EUGENE, Ore. – Northwest lost a road conference match for the first time on Friday when Bushnell held off the Eagles in five sets, 25-16, 22-25, 25-17, 22-25, 17-15.
 
"Both teams played hard tonight and we struggled in the first set with composure but that was a consequence of Bushnell's serving pressure and transition offense," said NU Head Coach Steven Bain. "We made several adjustments that seemed to help and started making plays, which allowed us to push it to a fifth set. But credit Bushnell and their ability to play clean and make plays when the fifth set was on the line and that was the difference. We will do our best to regroup and give great effort tomorrow against a talented Corban squad."
 
Karste Wright and Abigail Broussard put up big offensive numbers with 201 and 18 kills, respectively, while Anna Saelens get the attack with 46 assists. Broussard, who had a double-double with 10 digs, had a .500 attack percentage for the match.
 
Kelsey Moore led the back row with 19 digs. Kylie Lunday was in on four blocks and Broussard assisted on three.
 
The Eagles struggled in the first set, attacking at a negative rate in a 25-16 loss. Broussard was the bright spot with four kills in five first-set attacks.
 
NU trailed 13-12 in the second set before putting together a 6-1 run for an 18-13 lead. Wright had two kills in the spree. BU narrowed the gap to 23-22 but Susana Bailey got a kill and Caitlyn James served up an ace to close the set.
 
After falling in the third set, the Eagles found their stroke and hit .307 in the fourth set and .267 in the fifth.
 
Wright had two kills in the final three volleys to send the match to the fifth set.
 
NU got out to an 8-5 in the final set but could not hold on. The Eagles were able to get to match point after a kill by Wright but the Beacons won four of the five final points to carry off the win.
 
The Eagles fall back to .500 both overall and in the Cascade Collegiate Conference at 8-8 and 4-4. NU remains in Oregon to battle No. 6 Corban on Saturday in Salem.