Red Raiders volleyball took to the court Saturday, October 16 to play the Mount Marty Lancers at home. In three sets, the Raiders beat the Lancers (25-17, 25-13, 25-13). This helped Northwestern bounce back with a Great Plains Athletic Conference victory to better their record (5-5).
The match started off slow for the Red Raiders, but they were keen on not letting the Lancers get 20 or more points. The Raider defense garnered a total of 14 blocks as a team against Lancer offense. Leading the team with six kills and all block assists was senior Bekah Horstman. NW defense also had a combined 31 kills over all three sets.
The Lancers started out hot, taking an early 7-2 lead over the Raiders. Raider Head Coach, Kyle Van Den Bosch, called a timeout that gave the Raiders the jump start they needed for a 10-1 run which gave NW an 11-8 lead. They were not holding back the rest of the game. The Raiders went on to take set one 25-17.
Set two saw more of playing and building confidence from the Raiders. The second set also saw the reverse opening outcome compared to the first set. NW took the early 7-2 lead in the set, which caused Mount Marty to take a forced timeout. Once action resumed after the timeout, it took some back and forth before NW took control of the set with a 7-0 run, bringing the score to 17-6. NW won the set 25-13, taking the 2-0 match lead.
In the final set, action was more so the same as the second set. Freshman Emmy Wedgbury led the 6-0 surge, which forced another time out. However, that surge and forced time out was all NW needed. With another 5-0 run, the Raiders were able to take the match in three sets, with a 25-13 set three win.
NW Raiders played Briar Cliff on October 19 in Sioux City where they came out victorious taking the match 4-1 for a sweep against the Chargers to start a five day stretch of three games. NW goes to Crete, Neb. to play against GPAC No. 6 and National No. 23, Doane.
