COLLEGE PLACE, Wash. — Walla Walla Women's Volleyball took down a ranked opponent for the fourth time this season with a four-set victory over No. 18 Northwest (Wash.) in a Cascade Conference clash on Saturday.

The Wolves (10-7, 8-6), who received votes in the latest NAIA Coaches Poll, moved into a tie for fourth place in the CCC with No. 23 Bushnell with the 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 26-24 victory against the Eagles. 

"I watched a great fight between two strong teams today," Walla Walla coach Kiana Krumm said. "This win means everything to us and the girls left their hearts on the court … Can't wait to get back on the court in just a couple of days."

Earlier this season, Walla Walla made history with its first win over a ranked opponent against then-No. 11 Montana Western. Since that upset victory, the Wolves have tacked on victories against then-No. 19 Southern Oregon, then-No. 12 College of Idaho and now against Northwest (13-7, 7-7). The battle tested WWU squad will not see the road get any easier with five ranked teams in its final six games of the regular season.

Sahara Browning concluded her fantastic weekend with 22 kills for the home team, on the weekend the junior tallied up 43 kills to move her career total to 929. Browning added eight digs and two aces to her line score.

Paula Flores led the team with 19 digs and had a double-double with 17 kills.  Natalia Jimenez also had a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs. Yaimaris Garcia had 47 assists and six more aces to push her season total to 55.

Kaitlyn Mickle led Northwest with 13 kills. Morgan Harter had 22 assists and Ellie Van Berkum had 15 digs.

The close battle showed on the stat sheet as the Wolves had a hitting percentage of .155 and the Eagles were close behind at .144. Both teams had nine aces, Walla Walla out attacked Northwest with 58 kills to 36, but NU had 10 blocks on the night.

Both of the first two sets were pushed to a 23-23 tie. The Wolves closed out the opening set with a kill by Flores and then the sophomore outside hitter combined with Lauren Moody for the block. It was the Eagles that found the late rally in the second set with a kill by Mickle and an attack error by Flores evened the match at one set apiece.

Garcia served Walla Walla a 6-0 advantage in the third set with three aces and the Wolves used that momentum to jump out to a 21-11 lead. Northwest did not go away quietly and won eight of the next 10 points to cut the gap to just four, but kills by Garcia and Flores over a four-point span earned The Pack the third set victory.

The Eagles jumped out in the fourth set and led 7-4 after a kill by Aubree Dees. WWU responded with a 6-1 run and regained the lead. The two teams battled back and forth with both teams edging out in front throughout the set. Northwest earned back-to-back kills by Delaney Sparks and Dees and had a 22-20 lead and attempted to force the game to a fifth set. Krumm called a timeout and the Wolves responded.

After a service error and an attack error tied the set, Flores and Garcia slammed home two straight kills to set up match point. Northwest was able to force an attack error and an ace by Dees died it up at 24-24. Freshman Catalina Gutierrez Sebastia made a fantastic touch on a wild play and gave the home team something to stand up for and the Wolves were able to close it out a point later.

UP NEXT

The Wolves go back on the road when they take on No. 11 Lewis-Clark State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Stay up to date with all things Wolves Athletics at uwolves.com and on social media @theuwolves.