FULLERTON, CALIF. - The Northwest women's volleyball team finished the Summer Slam with a sweep over Embry-Riddle and a comeback 3-2 win over Dordt University.
The Eagles first faced Embry-Riddle who managed to squeak a victory against Bushnell 3-2 but were swept by Dordt on Friday.
It was a challenging start to the first set for the Eagles, as Embry Riddle took a 9-4 lead before Head Coach Steven Bain took a timeout to reset his team. After the timeout, Embry-Riddle tacked on two more, but the Eagles rebounded to form for an unprecedented 10-1 run to give themselves the lead, 14-12. Each team would exchange points before the Eagles reached the finish line first, 25-23.
The second set started off dead even, exchanging one point after another until the Eagles went on a 7-1 rally to get the edge, 14-9. With Katelyn Bogetti, Morgan Harter, and Ellie Van Berkum serving and Delaney Sparks delivering key kills, the Eagles surmounted the second set, taking the win, 25-19.
In the third set, the Eagles crusaded two large runs. The first came early on by Masa Spela Jarc when the Eagles jumped from being down 3-2 all the way to the lead by a score of 8-2. It wasn't long before Embry-Riddle clawed their way back into the game and retook the lead, 12-10. Then the Eagles pulled off a nine-point unbroken run. Harter conducted the serves, while Kaitlyn Mickle and Chloe Kennedy led the charge on the attack. This launched the Eagles to secure their second sweep of the weekend, clinching set three, 25-18.
Mickle recorded the most kills in the match with 17 kills, and Sparks grabbed 10 kills.
The Eagles quickly moved on to face Dordt who recorded sweeps in each of their three games they played over the weekend.
The first set against Dordt was a test of wits. With both teams exchanging rallies and neither truly able to shake the other off, the contest was tight. The Eagles managed to escape a four-point deficit, with Van Berkum and Sparks leading the charge late into the game. However, Dordt was able to seal a 5-1 run for the comeback win, 27-25.
The Eagles struggled out of the gate for the second set, going down 4-1. Then after Coach Bain called a timeout, the Eagles settled in and rallied a 7-2 run to give themselves the lead, thanks to Chloe Kennedy and Aubree Dees' stout blocks and timely errors from Dordt's end. The rest of the set would remain close until Dordt pulled off a 6-1 comeback to get the second win of the match.
With their backs to the wall, the Eagles' offense exploded in the third set. Kennedy, Sparks, and Dees all contributed to the offensive effort at the start of the set; Bogetti also contributed with an ace. The Eagles built on the 7-1 start with two, five-point rallies in the set, and Dordt couldn't keep up this time. The Eagles won the set, 25-11.
The fourth set started tightly as each team exchanged errors and timely kills, but once the Eagles crossed the 10-point mark, Dordt took control. Unloading a barrage of aces and kills, Dordt assembled a 7-1 rally that used up Bain's two timeouts. As Dordt climbed to the 24 mark, the Eagles mounted a six-point comeback to win the set in overtime and tie the match.
Into the final set, the Eagles crossed the 10-point mark first with great serving from Spela Jarc. It was enough to stay out of harm's way, as the Eagles completed the set and the comeback to go undefeated at Summer Slam.
Mickle reached 20 kills during the match, and Dees followed suit with 13 kills.
The Eagles return home on Tuesday, Aug. 26, as they host Pacific Lutheran University.
