MONMOUTH, Ore.—After honoring its two seniors, Sydney Blankinship and Alisha Bettinson, prior to the match, the Western Oregon University volleyball team closed out the year with a 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18) win over Saint Martin's in GNAC volleyball action on Saturday night.
Western Oregon (7-20, 3-17 GNAC) used extended sprees in the first and third sets to take two separate leads while holding Saint Martin's (9-18, 4-16 GNAC) to a .000 hitting percentage to take the finale.Holding an 11-9 lead in the first, the Wolves used a 9-4 run to pull away with Jenna Compton providing several key swings. In the third, WOU once again stretched its advantage in the middle section of the set this time with Bettinson and Katherine Huntington on the attack.
The Wolves stepped up the defensive pressure in the finale with Marlie Norman in on four blocks during a stretch if five rallies. Norman tied a career best with seven block assists on the night.
Bettinson tallied 13 kills in her final collegiate match and closed out her career with a WOU NCAA DII-era school record 1,122 kills. Blankinship, though having missed the final portion of the season due to injury, ends her career ranked inside the school's all-time top 10 in total blocks and No. 3 overall with a career .280 attack percentage.
"It's always nice to end the season with a win. For our seniors to have that final moment and for our returners it makes going into the offseason all that much more productive being able to start out with that positive energy," WOU head coach
Tommy Gott said.
Jenna Compton led WOU with 14 kills on 33 attacks and just a single error for a sparkling .424 hit rate. Katherine Huntington also reached double figures with a dozen terminations.
Setting up the offense, Leila Holt registered 47 assists while Libbie Hoene tallied 27 digs, a season-high for a four-set match.
"We did a great job of winning the serve and pass battle while we kept ourselves in system because of the digs and passes," Gott said. "Overall, we played with a consistent tone which limited our errors."
SMU's Rachel Gondrezick led all attackers with 17 kills.
