Northwestern smashed down the hurt on Briar Cliff on Tuesday night, dominating the contest in a 3-0 (25-19, 25-8, 25-13) win. The road win moves the Raiders record to 13-3 (3-0) on the season.
“Everything was working for us,” said freshman setter Madeline Hanno. “Passes, sets, hits – everyone did their jobs well.”
The kills rained down for NW, who hit near .400 on the night, having nine errors spread out among 42 kills. Sophomore Kaitlin Floerchinger had a team high 14 kills from the outside hitter position.
Freshman middle hitter Karlie Schut put down seven kills, but put up more points through seven blocks and three ace serves. Senior Jaci Moret had six kills, and junior Megan Huston added five.
Hanno lofted up 15 assists.
Sophomore libero Alexis Bart had 13 digs and an impressive 33-33 on serve receive to anchor the NW defense.
After a close first game, the Raiders forced a side out on the first point of the second set. Behind the serving of Schut, they took a 10-0 lead. A .636 kill percentage also contributed to keeping Briar Cliff in single digits.
“We knew we had the game won after that run,” Hanno said.
The tone was set for the rest of the match, and NW won the third game easily.
“The best part of the game was that we got ahead and stayed ahead,” Hanno said. “We didn’t let up and finished the game.”
NW is sure to face a tougher test this Saturday as they travel to face No. 7 Hastings. First serve is at 3 p.m.