Volleyball | 11/6/2008 4:50:36 PM
Box Score MONMOUTH, Ore. - The No. 24 Western Oregon University volleyball team earned a four set victory over No. 11 Western Washington Thursday, Nov. 6.
With the 25-16, 19-25, 25-20 and 25-15 win, the Wolves moved two matches up in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with a 12-1 league record and a 19-2 overall mark. The loss drops the Vikings to 10-3 in the conference and 18-3 on the season.
Kayla Mainer led WOU with 13 kills as the Wolves had six student-athletes get nine or more kills in the match. Stacey Bennett was the only other Wolf with double figure kills as she had 11. Lisa Martini, Sylvia Herrold and Sharon Peterson each had nine kills while Stephanie Beeler added eight. Amy Herron led the team with 29 assists while fellow setter Jorden Burrows added 21 assists and three kills. Danielle English registered a match-best 23 digs in the contest. Peterson led the team with a .533 hitting percentage in the match as she recorded nine kills and one error in 15 attempts.
In each of its three set wins, Western Oregon posted a .400 over better hitting percentage, as it registered a .331 hitting clip on the evening. The Wolves were also able to win the battle at the net as it outblocked the Vikings 7-6. Peterson was the team-leader with six assisted blocks.
The Wolves were dominant in the first set as it outhit the Vikings .455-.116. Western Oregon posted 16 kills with only one error in 33 attempts in the set for the .455 hitting percentage. Beeler had a team-best five kills and a .625 hitting percentage (5-0-8) in the set. Bennett and Mainer each recorded four kills in the set. English had a team-high nine assists in the frame while Herron chipped in with seven assists. WOU fell behind 10-8 but it then went on a 9-1 run to take a commanding 17-11 set lead. But the Wolves did not back off from there as it continued to attack and captured eight of the next 13 points to take a one set lead.
WOU dropped the second set 25-19 as it struggled to a .128 hitting percentage in the frame, as it posted six errors and 12 kills in 47 attempts. Martini had the top hitting percentage for the Wolves in the set as she recorded a team-best four kills with one error in six attempts for a .500 clip. Western Oregon was outblocked 3-1 in the set as Western Washington tied the match at one set apiece.
Western Oregon continued the trend of the team that wins the hitting percentage battle wins the set. The Wolves hit at a .400 mark in the set as it had 18 kills with four errors in 35 attempts. Its defense was also able to hold WWU to a .129 hitting percentage as it held the Vikings to just 11 kills and forced them into seven hitting errors. Peterson had six kills on eight attempts with no mistakes for a .750 hitting percentage. Burrows and Herron shared time at the setter and each had eight assists in the set.
In the fourth set, the Wolves jumped out to a 15-4 lead in large part due to the play of the freshman Herrold. In the set, she recorded six kills with one error in 10 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. She also had two service aces and three digs in the set. WOU's Herrold rattled off five straight serves early in the match as the Wolves jumped to the 11-point advantage.
"This match puts us in the driver's seat for the GNAC title but our work is not done yet," said head coach Brad Saindon. "I told our team that we had to go out and take this match from the defending conference champions, they were not going to just give it to us.
"I also told the team that nothing has been decided yet," continued Saindon. "We have a difficult match this weekend at Central Washington and two tough matches next week at home."
The Western Oregon volleyball team will take on Central Washington Saturday, Nov. 8, at 7:00 p.m., in Ellensburg, before returning home to close out its schedule with Northwest Nazarene (Nov. 13) and Seattle Pacific (Nov. 15).
"I believe that this team could not only compete for a GNAC title but a national title as well," said Saindon.
