Volleyball | 10/28/2010 9:32:06 PM

Box Score [Box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Stephanie Beeler had 12 kills and hit .323 while Jorden Burrows dished out 43 assists to lead Western Oregon to a 25-16, 27-29, 25-21 and 25-15 win over Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, Oct. 28.

The win keeps Western Oregon a half-match back of third place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 9-5 conference record, and an 11-8 mark overall. The loss dropped Northwest Nazarene to 5-15 on the season and to 5-9 in the GNAC.

Beeler registered those 12 kills on 31 swings with just two errors. She also added 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. She also added five blocks. Burrows narrowly missed a double-double of her own with 43 assists and nine digs.

"Steph Beeler was terrific tonight," said Western Oregon head coach Brad Saindon. "She played like a seasoned veteran that she is and really stepped up when we needed someone to step up. I am really happy and proud for her.

"I thought Jorden had a terrific match as well," continued Saindon. "Thank goodness we had two seniors on the court. I thought they played great."

Corynn Kopra came through with her the first double-double of her young career, as she registered 10 kills and 16 digs.

"I started Corynn tonight because she had a great of practice," Saindon explained. "I wanted to send the message to my team that I care what happens at practice and performance in practice matters. Corynn was really good this week and deserved the start."

Not to be outdone, Danielle Reese got in on the double-double party with 11 kills and 12 digs. Western Oregon also got five blocks from Becky Blees and 17 digs from Megan Triggs. As a team, WOU had 12 service aces and outhit NNU .203 to .086.

However, despite the impressive stats from a number of Western Oregon student-athletes the match was a battle throughout.

Western Oregon got off to a fast start with a 25-16 win in the first set. Reese, Kemper and Beeler each had three kills as WOU out hit NNU .333 to .000. The Wolves also got three service aces and five digs from Copra.

The second set was a battle which extended to extra points. WOU led nearly the entire set but NNU battled back to tie the match at 23-23. The teams then exchanged points till it was 26-26. WOU then jumped on top by one on a kill by Kopra. However, NNU had the answer, as it scored three straight points to earn the set win.

After the break, the Wolves were able to edge by the Crusaders 25-21 in the third set to take the one set lead. Kopra had five kills without an error and Triggs had eight digs. Western Oregon was trailing 21-19 but went on a 6-0 run to close the set.

In the fourth, Western Oregon held NNU to a -.053 hitting percentage to earn the win. WOU also had four service aces and got four kills from Reese, and three from Kemper, to close out the match.

"Hats off to NNU, they played a really good match," said Saindon. "They dug a lot of balls and did some good things with their block.

"That was a good win for us," noted Saindon. "We are struggling with passing and ball control. We are trying to take care of the errors on our side of the net and I was really happy with our outside hitters controlling their errors. But it was a nice job by the whole team."

Western Oregon will have a battle on its hands this Saturday (Oct. 30) when fifth placed Central Washington comes to town. The match will begin at 7:00 p.m., following the Senior Day ceremonies to honor Jorden Burrows and Stephanie Beeler.