The No. 6 NAIA ranked Northwestern volleyball team claimed a 3-0 sweep over Dakota Wesleyan on Tuesday, Sept. 30. NW won with scores of 26-24, 25-19 and 25-12 respectively. The win marked the fifth straight sweep for the Raiders and 12th sweep of the season.
“The most important aspect to our streak has been how hard we work in practice,” said senior defensive specialist Alexis Bart. “And also how hard we push ourselves to play at a high level all of the time.”
In the first set, NW came back from an 18-16 defecit to tie the score up at 24. Junior rightside hitter Karlie Schut scored the final two points of the game with a hit and a block to secure a Raider victory. Defense led the way in set two as NW held onto an 18-11 lead to finish 25-19. NW got off to a hot start in the third and final set with a 9-3 lead. Sophomore defensive specialist Jillian Estes served three aces in a row to help cement a NW sweep.
Junior outside hitter Hayley Chambers and Schut recorded ten kills. Sophomore outside hitter Kiara Vander Pol had a career-high nine kills.
Up next for NW is a match-up with No. 10 Midland on Saturday, Oct. 4 in Fremont, Neb.
