Thursday, December 1, 2016

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Middle blocker Madi Farrell had a monster match with 19 kills and 11 block assists Thursday to power 5th-seeded Northwest Nazarene to a 26-24, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19 victory over 4th-seeded Simon Fraser in the opening round of the NCAA Div. II West Regional Volleyball Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Crusaders (21-7) also got 11 kills and 13 digs from outside hitter Kendra Bodine and 16 kills from Cami Heninger to earn the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. NNU will be either top-seeded Alaska Anchorage or 8th-seeded Chico State in Friday’s late regional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. AST.

The Clan (21-8) were led by 14 kills apiece from Tessa May and Emma Jennings in the first NCAA Tournament appearance for the NCAA’s lone Canadian member.

NNU was led defensively by 21 digs from Mari Thomas as it avenged a pair of regular-season straight-set losses to its Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival.