Fullerton, CA - Northwest University took three sets off Doane University's first counting game and Summer Slam's first match off the two-day tournament.
The Eagles trailed close behind throughout the first set until they took the lead at 20-19 and battled until 25-23 with 14 kills total, Delaney Sparks leading the pack with four.
Karste Wright gave the Eagles a spark with five kills in the second set. NU took its largest lead thus far at 23-17. Doane's offense tried to sneak its way back in, but the Eagles took the set at 25-22.
The Eagles found an early third-set groove that resulted in a 10-point lead. After the Tigers fought back to make it 18-13, Allie Flynn put NU up 22-13 with three service aces in a row. She ended the match with four total service aces.
Kill leaders for the game include Karste Wright (10), Kaitlyn Mickle (9), Delaney Sparks (8), and Halsie Keltner (7)
Morgan Harter had 16 assists, and Kelsey Moore ended with 13 digs.
Head Coach Steven Bain says, "The outcomes today are a good indication of where we are at as a team. Against Doane, they were terrific early at keeping us out of system but as the match continued, we found ways to put pressure on them with our serves, which allowed us to control the 3rd set and win the match. The match vs The Master's was similar. Our first contacts - serving and passing - simply weren't very good but once we stabilized, we controlled the next two and ½ sets. But it takes 3 good sets to win a match and when the 4th and 5th were on the line, Master's made plays and we didn't. We played hard though and have made progress being connected and doing the little things that will increase our success as the season progresses. I know we will continue to work hard and I'm excited to see how we bounce back the next time we take the court."
The 3-5 loss against The Master's was a hard fought battle for the Eagles. The Mustang's took the win with 25-16, 19-25, 13-25, 25-21, and 15-11.
The Eagles were able to take the second-set off The Master's due to a number of Mustang attacking errors followed by several major blocks by Azaria Johnson. NU ended the set with a kill from Kylie Lunday, assisted by Allie Flynn.
Karste Wright showed up again for the Eagles, accumulating a number of kills in the third-set. This forced a Mustang timeout but it was not enough to keep the Eagles from taking the third set win.
Both teams went into the fifth set with ambition, but the Mustang's took the match at 15-11.
The women have a quick turnaround as they play next at 10 am tomorrow morning against the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in their third match of the Summer Slam Tournament.
