MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon women's volleyball team dropped its second straight home match in GNAC action on Saturday night in three sets to Northwest Nazarene. Set scores were 15-25, 20-25, 17-25.
 
Northwest Nazarene (7-7, 4-2 GNAC) came out firing on all cylinders to take a 10-5 lead over the Wolves (4-11, 1-5 GNAC). Mariella Vandenkooy got WOU within four points, 13-9, with a pair of kills. The Crusaders scored the next four points and ended the set hitting .382 to take the game 25-15.
 
Set two started with balanced play, resulting in a 6-6 score. With a pair of aces mixed in, NNU would secure six of the next seven rallies moving to a 12-7 edge. WOU found a spark behind Alisha Bettinson. Two Bettinson kills followed an Amanda Short swing to close within two points. The Wolves regained the serve on another Bettinson swing. Paige Kelsey notched an ace and Bettinson tied the game at 16-16 with her fourth kill in the span of six points. The team traded four point rallies making the score 20-20 before NNU strung together the final five points for a 25-20 decision.
 
Northwest Nazarene nabbed seven of the first 10 points of game three to take a solid advantage. A pair of Bettinson kills sandwiched around a block from Leila Holt and Sydney Blankinship to cut the Crusader advantage to three. NNU had two rotations with multiple points, including a pair with three-point raliies to setup their first attempt at match point at 24-15. A Vandenkooy kill and a NNU attack error sliced the lead to seven. However, the Crusaders wrapped up the match with a final kill.
 
Bettinson had team highs with 10 kills and 15 digs, producing her fourth double-double of the season hitting .206 for the match. Short and Vandenkooy each added eight kills. Christie Colasurdo had 11 digs and five assists from the libero spot. Maddie Mehciz registered 17 assists.
 
NNU outhit Western Oregon for the match .352-to-.176, posting three consecutive games with at least a .325 hitting percentage. The Crusaders also bested the block battle, six to three.
 
Western Oregon will play away from Monmouth next week in GNAC play. The Wolves head north of the border to face Simon Fraser on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in Burnaby, B.C.