Volleyball | 9/11/2010 10:13:13 PM

Box Score [Box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Western Oregon jumped out to a 2-0 start in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an 18-25, 25-22, 28-26 and 25-15 win over Alaska Fairbanks, Saturday, Sept. 11.

It was the Wolves' (4-3, 2-0 GNAC) defense which stepped up in this match. It held the Nanooks (3-5, 1-1 GNAC) in check with a .018 hitting percentage and 18 blocks. Krissi Kemper and Stephanie Beeler each had 10 assisted blocks to lead Western Oregon. Kemper also posted her first career double-double with those blocks and 10 kills. Megan Triggs set a career-high with 23 digs to anchor the back line of the defense.

"I though our block was really good and what set up the rest of our defense," said Western Oregon head coach Brad Saindon. "To be 2-0 after all that has happened this week is awesome; it is a testament to our players and their will."

Beeler's and Kemper's performance at the net did not go unnoticed by coach Saindon.

"Steph Beeler had the best match of her career at a time we really needed someone to step up, so hats off to her," Saindon said. "She had six kills and just one error to hit .312. She served really well and did a really nice job blocking.

"I (also) thought Krissi had the best match of her career," Saindon continued. "She was really good after we got going with her. Ten kills with three errors is awesome. Our middle attack picked things up."

Saindon would go on to give credit to Alaska Fairbanks for a hard fought match in which they held WOU's two outside hitters, Danielle Reese and Samantha Ward, to a .043 hitting percentage.

"Fairbanks did a good job defending our outside attack," Saindon commented. "Dani and Sam really struggled killing the ball. (UAF) was really good at defending that part of the court and we had to find our kills elsewhere."

Reese did finish the match with her fourth straight double-double. She registered a team-high 12 kills to go along with 15 digs. Jorden Burrows added 36 assists.

The Wolves jumped on top with a 25-18 win in set one. Becky Blees paced the offense with four kills and no errors for a .667 hitting percentage. Ward added three kills, while Burrows, Kemper and Beeler each had two. Burrows also contributed with nine assists. WOU's defense was also strong, as it held UAF to a .044 hitting percentage.

In the second set, Alaska Fairbanks managed just a .077 hitting percentage but were able to pull out the win to tie the match at 1-1. Tereza Bendlova led the Nanooks with four kills. Reese notched five kills to lead the Wolves. Western Oregon recorded seven blocks in the set. Stephanie Beeler had four assisted blocks, while Kemper and Blees each registered three.

The Wolves pulled out the third set thanks to a late comeback. Down 24-22, WOU got a kill then an ace from Kemper to guarantee extra points. After the teams traded the next four points, the Nanooks made consecutive errors to give the Wolves the win.

Western Oregon carried that momentum into the fourth set and walked away with a 25-15 win. The Nanooks' errors played a large role in the match. They had six service errors, including four straight at one point, and eight attack errors.

The Wolves were a bit thin on the bench with a number of student-athletes unavailable due to injury.

"My first thought was it has been a very tough week for us; we are almost running out of players," Saindon noted. "I am just really happy this week is behind us and that we get some injured people back. Hopefully Jorden feels better and we can piece our team back together because we are so injured, sick and hurt right now that we can hardly even practice."

The Wolves did struggle with service errors, as they gave UAF 16 points off service miscues.

"We still have to serve better and we are working hard at serving," Saindon concluded. "We have to serve tougher, and as you serve tougher your errors go up; and that is where we are at right now. We are just trying to go for it on our serves and we are missing a lot of serves, but hopefully we get that under control."

The Western Oregon volleyball team will play its next match Sept. 16 in Canada against Simon Fraser. The match will start at 7:00 p.m.



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