Senior Nicole Jacobs. Photo by Emilee Berry
No. 11 Northwestern is currently off to its best start since the 2010 season thanks to an undefeated weekend in Olathe, Kan., and a win against Mount Marty.
Three games (25-13, 25-16, 25-18) was all it took for the Raiders to come out victorious in their first conference game of the season against Mount Marty.The Lancers totaled 33 errors throughout the match to counter any mishaps of the Raiders.
When NW wasn’t handed points, it earned them with great efficiency. Junior hitter Kaitlin Floerchinger led the way with 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .524. Floerchinger also aced three serves.
Junior Karlie Schut added six kills and two aces. Sophomore Haley Chambers had five kills at the net and three solo blocks.Sophomore Brooke Fessler picked her spots well and recorded four kills in six attempts. She also contributed 23 assists during the three sets.
“We were able to make decisions on when we needed to put down aggressive swings and when the off-speed shots were appropriate to score,” Chambers said.
Junior Alexis Bart had eight digs to lead a balanced defensive effort. Nine of the 11 players who received minutes recorded a dig.
This past weekend’s tournament was the last non conference tourney for the Raiders. The team brought home four wins from the Hy-Vee Pioneer Volleyball Invitational.On Friday, NW took care of Evangel University (Mo.) and Benedictine College (Kan.) in four games and three games, respectively.
Saturday saw the Raiders sweep (RV) Baker University (Kan.)Their final game was a five-set battle against a resilient Texas Wesleyan squad.
Schut led the Raiders attack over the weekend. She averaged 4.3 kills a set to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. She had a career-high 20 kills against Evangel. Freshman Kellie Goedken and Chambers also were instrumental in an Raider offense that was missing Floerchinger due to injury.
“Our whole team stepped up and contributed to our wins this weekend,” Chambers said. “When we are a man down, each person has a quality that makes up for a missing person.”
NW travels to Sioux City tonight to face Morningside.
