Volleyball | 11/13/2008 11:18:52 PM
Box Score MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon University volleyball team captured the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title outright as it defeated Northwest Nazarene 25-23, 25-20, 26-28 and 25-18 Thursday, Nov. 13.
With the win, the Wolves improved to 21-2 this season and 14-1 in the conference, as it earned its first-ever GNAC volleyball championship. This was the fifth-straight win for Western Oregon as it extended its home-winning streak to 17 straight matches with the four-set victory. The 14 conference wins are also the most for the Wolves since becoming a member of the GNAC in 2001. This was Western Oregon's first volleyball conference championship since 1999 when it won the Pacific West Conference with a 15-1 record as a provisional member of NCAA Division II. The loss drops Northwest Nazarene to 15-9 on the season and into fourth place in the GNAC with a 9-6 record.
Stacey Bennett and Laura Sakala each had 15 kills to lead Western Oregon. Sakala registered her 15 on 33 attempts with just three errors for a team-leading .364 hitting percentage. Jorden Burrows led the Wolves with 24 assists as Amy Herron added 23 of her own. Danielle English was the team leader in digs with 28. Lisa Martini and Sakala each had five assisted blocks as Western Oregon outblocked NNU 11.5-8.0. The Wolves also won the hitting percentage battle .199-.126 over the Crusaders.
"Winning the conference was the first goal we set for ourselves this season," said head coach Brad Saindon. "Being able to reach our set goal is a great feeling. I wanted this for our players, especially the seniors, because they worked so hard to get here and I am glad that their hard work has earned them a conference championship."
In the first set, the Wolves used a 5-0 run to grab a lead it would not relinquish en route to a 25-23 victory. The Wolves outhit the Crusaders .200-.133 in the set as it had 12 kill and four errors in 40 attempts compared the NNU's 14 kills and eight errors in 45 attempts. Bennett led the team with four kills in the set while Martini posted a team-best hitting percentage of .375 with three kills and no errors in eight attempts. Burrows led the Wolves in assists with seven in the set. Western Oregon also won the blocking battle in the set, 2.5-2.0 over NNU, as Martini and Mainer registered two assisted blocks apiece with Burrows adding the other.
The second set was tightly contested as both team battled till it was an 18-18 tie. The Wolves then took seven of the next nine points to win the set 25-20. WOU held NNU to a .075 hitting percentage as the Crusaders recorded 13 kills and nine errors on 53 attempts. Sakala had four kills with no errors on 11 attempts for a .364 hitting percentage. Herron had seven assists and Bennett seven digs to lead the Wolves in those categories for the second set. Sakala and Burrows each recorded 1.5 blocks as Western Oregon outblocked NNU 5-4 in the set.
Western Oregon used a 9-0 run to take a 15-6 lead in the third set, but NNU stormed back with a 13-4 run of its own to tie the set at 19 apiece. The set would then go to extra points where NNU won 28-26. The Wolves were outhit for in a set for the first time on the evening, .143-.132. Both teams committed eight hitting errors but NNU had two additional kills for the hitting advantage. Bennett had five kills with no errors on 15 attempts in the set for a .333 hitting percentage. Herron had seven assists in the set while Burrows added five. The block battle was even at one apiece. Cammy Dranginis and Lindsey Forseth each had six kills in the set to lead NNU.
The Wolves had a .359 to .151 hitting percentage advantage in the fourth set as it won it 25-18, to clinch the 2008 GNAC volleyball title outright. Western Oregon used an 8-0 run during Martini's serves to take a 14-8 lead and not look back. Sakala had five kills on seven attempts with one error for a .571 hitting percentage. Bennett and English both recorded eight digs in the set while Herron posted a team-best seven assists in the set.
"This may have been our first GNAC championship," said Saindon, "but it won't be our last."
The Western Oregon volleyball team will close out the 2008 regular season at home against Seattle Pacific Saturday, Nov. 15, at 7:00 p.m.
The Wolves' 2008 season will continue next week in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship Tournament. Western Oregon's opponent for the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament along the west region site will be announced Sunday, Nov. 16, at 7:00 p.m., at www.ncaa.com. A story and preview will follow on www.wouwolves.com.
