MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Simon Fraser Clan volleyball team won in straight sets, 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-17) over the Western Oregon Wolves for their fourth win in six matches on Thursday at NPE Gym.

The Wolves made a series of pushes to keep set one tight. Trailing 18-14, WOU rattled off four consecutive points to tie the game and force a SFU timeout. With the match moving to an even 24-24, the Clan put together consecutive points for the set win.

Kirsten Pinkney delivered five of her 14 kills in the first set on the way to a .414 hit percentage. Pinkney also had two digs and an assist.

"I think one of the big positives was the way our defense played behind our block," said Western Oregon head coach Tommy Gott. "We didn't average our normal block percentage like we have been but we were able to earn points off our defense."

Set two saw more separation and an early run for Simon Fraser that Western Oregon could not overcome. After the Wolves took a 3-1 lead, the Clan went on a 14-6 run to take a six-point advantage, a lead they would hold the rest of the game.

"We always talk about breaking each set into three phases and we always want to start and finish strong. We played well at times in the first two phases but need to continue to work on completing all three phases."

SFU again held the lead for a majority of the third set and did not trail after the 3-2 Wolves lead courtesy of a Mariella Vandenkooy kill. Vandenkooy put together a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs in the match. 

Leila Holt led the Wolves with 15 assists and eight digs as well as two service aces.

"Simon Fraser was able to capitalize on their opportunities tonight and had a couple of hitters played efficiently."

The win for the Clan is now their ninth consecutive over the Wolves.

Western Oregon returns to action at home on Saturday against No. 7 Western Washington. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at NPE Gym.