In the rivalry battle of No. 9-ranked Northwestern (10-5, 2-3 GPAC) fought hard and dominated the No. 5 ranked Dordt (10-4, 2-3 GPAC) in straight sets to pick up their tenth win of the season. Freshman Alysen Dexter had a match-leading 15 kills to help the Raiders to their victory.
Junior Jadeyn Schutt was a key player of the match as she led the team with six aces, 21 assist and 15 digs with help from senior Emily Strasser who contributed 13 digs for the NW defense. With an outstanding defensive performance by the Raiders, they held the Defenders to a .168 hitting percentage on the entire match.
NW was also very successful on offense as they had a .325 hitting percentage that game and complete control of the first set. The Raiders were able to take a quick lead with an 8-1 first set, which forced Dordt to take a time out early on. The Defenders attempt to come back with three-straight points, however, the Raiders were first to 15, leading 15-9. Still fighting Dordt would put up a small 3-1 run together to make it 17-12. Senior Bekah Horstman would slam down a Dordt dig, Horstman would then connect with junior Katie Peters for a double block to give the Raiders the winning point to close out the set winning 25-18.
In the second set, Dordt would come out strong and take the first two points, giving them the momentum to a 5-1 lead. A Horstman block to get the Dordt offense out of their rhythm allowed the Raiders to come back and take a 7-6 lead. The two teams would go back and forth as Dordt would take another timeout holding onto a 14-12 lead. Another Horstman and Peters combination block set the tone as the match was then tied 16-16. As the set continued the game tied once again at 20. NW persevered through to take a 2-0 set lead, concluding the second match with another win 25-23.
The Raiders needed to win one more set to conclude the game, but the Defenders came out strong once again taking a 4-0 lead. The two teams would tie up at 7-7 until the Raiders take the momentum as a 13-10 lead. The rest of the set would be dominated by NW, as they go two separate 3-0 leads to put the Defenders away. Schutt would tally three huge service aces in the third set to secure the Dordt sweep.
Dexter and Horstman both tallied over ten kills. Horstman, Peters, and Dexter were a huge threat at the net for the Raiders, securing all six of the team’s blocks.
“Everybody did their roles very well,” said head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch. “I thought we were the most aggressive team all afternoon. It was good to come out on top!”
