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Walla Walla University Athletics

Daniel Sokolov

Wolves Volleyball Struggle On Tough Road Trip

10/16/2016 2:29:00 AM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Paul Starkebaum, Sports Information Director

College Place, Wash.- The volleyball team knew they were in for a tough road trip, and #18 Corban University (15-5, 11-3) and Northwest Christian University (8-12, 6-8) proved to be difficult opponents.  The weather was not on the side of the Wolves either this weekend, as they had to travel early Friday morning to get to their match with Corban because of bad weather down I-84 on Thursday evening.  Emily Allen lead the Wolves the net this weekend with a hitting percentage of .286 combined over both matches, while Nilah Mata'afa and Krista Schafer lead the Wolves setting this weekend 14 and 15 respectively. 

Friday's match with the #18th ranked Warriors proved to be as difficult as expect.  Corban jumped out to a 11-3 lead in the first set, fueled by three kills by Alaina Gentili's.  Corban continued their relentless attack, while Maria Darling, Emily Allen, and Lauren Barlow all chipped in kills the Warriors would eventually take the 25-13.

The 2nd and 3rd sets went in similar fashion to Corban.  Alaina Gentili and Marandah would both finish the match with eight kills and teammates Adriana Aguayo and Amber Park each contributed seven.  The Warriors also split time to setters Madison McClain who finished with 22 assists and Mikenzee Frazier who chipped in 11.  The Wolves lost the second set 11-25 and the third 15-25.

Saturday night's match against started out as a struggle for the Wolves, but they saw improvement as the match went on.  Walla Walla had a tough time getting their attack going, while the Beacons had their attack dialed in on the night with a .278 hitting percentage.  Emily Allen and Lauren Barlow lead the Wolves in kills tonight with 4 apiece.  Melissa Barton had a .250 hitting percentage.

The Beacons came out hot and won the first match 25-11.  Taylor Burnett would lead NCU with 10 kills on the night and .360 hitting percentage.  The Beacons also relied heavily on setting Laurie Salness who had 29 assists.  The Wolves played their best volleyball of the night in the second set, but they still dropped the match 25-18.  The Wolves defense was solid on the night, combing as a team for eight blocks, led by Melissa Barton's three block assists on the night.   Laurent Barlow was also effective on defense contributing 11 digs. 

The third set would once again go to the Beacons.  Northwest Christian would only commit three serves errors on the night, and overall they played a very efficient match.  This would help them take the set 25-16 over the Wolves and take the match in three straight sets. 

The Wolves will be looking to bounce back in a big way this next weekend.  The Wolves will be back in town for Senior night weekend.  Friday the Wolves take on the Raiders of Southern Oregon and Saturday they host the Owls of Oregon Tech. 

For the Volleyball Schedule CLICK HERE

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