KIRKLAND – Northwest kept its postseason hopes alive with a 3-1 Senior Night win over Bushnell on Saturday, 25-20, 26-28, 25-18, 25-17.
 
Prior to the match, NU recognized seniors Kelsey Moore and Alison Compton, along with graduate students Anna Saelens and Abigail Broussard.
 
"Goes without saying that Senior Night is an emotional event, and I was very pleased that our graduates were able to get the victory against a very good Bushnell team," said NU Head Coach Steven Bain. "We were good in multiple phases and when you can do that over the course of the match, it puts pressure on the opponent and gives you a chance to stay ahead in each point."
 
We will now look ahead to the final week of the regular season and savor whatever time we have left together as a team.
 
The Eagles used a 6-0 run to break open a close first set and take a 14-5 lead. Susana Bailey and Kylie Lunday had a kill and a block assist apiece in that flurry.
 
The Beacons closed to within 21-18 but the Eagles finished off the threat with a kill by Kaitlyn Mickle.
 
Northwest rallied from down 24-20 in the second set to force extra rallies but Bushnell evened the match with a block by Makenna Northern and Payton Jones.
 
The Eagles turned around a 7-3 third-set deficit with a 5-1 run, including two kills by Mickle. Northwest closed down the set on a 6-1 run that included another kill and block assist each by Bailey and Lunday.
 
Northwest sprinted to leads of 5-1 and 13-4 in the final set and eventually took a 24-14 edge on a 4-0 run. Lunday finished off the match with a kill.
 
Broussard led the Eagles with 13 kills with Lunday and Mickle checking in at 12 and Delaney Sparks at 10. Lunday attacked at a .667 clip with Broussard at .520. Anna Saelens had 47 assists for her final night on the Pavilion court.
 
Moore led the back row with 21 digs with Ellie VanBerkum getting 12, Reece Denney and Caitlyn James 11 each and Saelens 10. Bailey and Lunday were in on five blocks each with Broussard netting four block assists.
 
Allie Flynn, Morgan Harter and Broussard had two aces each.
 
Halle Neuman led Bushnell with 13 kills and Shay Coons added 12. Makenna Northern had 44 assists and Callie Wilkins produced 28 digs.
 
The Eagles are two wins behind Southern Oregon, Lewis-Clark State and Bushnell for three of the final six playoff spots with two matches to matches to play. Northwest must win both matches next week at the College of Idaho and top-ranked Eastern Oregon. NU would also need at least one of the three teams ahead of them to lose both matches.