Heading into conference play this week, the Northwestern volleyball team was ranked fifth nationally.
They proved why on Wednesday, picking up their first conference win on the road against Dakota Wesleyan.
“The team opened with a nice win at Dakota Wesleyan,” said head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch. “We always feel good when we can get a road conference win.”
That good feeling is what the Raiders have been used to this year. They are off to an 8-1 start with a 1-0 conference record after defeating Dakota Wesleyan.
Northwestern won all three games, scoring 25-19, 25-19 and 25-14. They managed to smash down 43 kills in the three games, 11 of which were produced by junior Hilary Hanno. Other top Raiders in the kill category were junior Bobbie Jean Rick and senior Randa Hulstein, both of whom produced eight on the night.
Senior Janna Bloemendaal added 13 digs to the stat book, along with the 11 put together by Hulstein. Junior Kaitlin Beaver had 30 assists on the night. Both Hanno and freshmen Heather Goehring put up two aces apeice.
The game took about an hour and 20 minutes in front of a crowd of 286.
“The girls did a nice job of concentrating with a loud crowd and a hot gym,” Van Den Bosch said.
In the final stats of the night, NW ended up with 43 kills, 36 assists, 53 digs, one block and five aces.
NW now sets its eyes on Dordt College this weekend in hopes of continuing its success in the conference. The game will take place Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bultman Center.
