The Red Raider volleyball team completed the regular season with last Saturday’s match-up at Dordt.
Northwestern won the match 3-0, finishing with a 30-2 record and a perfect 16-0 record in the GPAC.
NW opened game one against the Defenders by earning a 25-18 win. With the score tied at 11, NW scored four straight points to go up 15-11 where they continued to roll to the win.
Game two was led by the Raiders the entire time. Dordt trailed by five before going on a 4-0 run and pulling within one, 16-15. Northwestern then went on a 6-1 run to put away game two 25-20.
The Raiders finished off Dordt in game three with a 25-20 win. The Defenders took the lead early but a few runs pulled NW to the victory in the three-game match.
Three different Raiders had double figures in kills in the match. Junior Hillary Hanno threw down 13, hitting .343 on the day. Senior Randa Hulstein also had 13 kills, hitting .259 alongside her younger sister Rylee Hulstein, who had 12 kills and hit .552 in the three-game match.
NW had four players in double digits in digs on the night. Senior Janna Bloemendaal had 13, which was the most on the team and moved her up to first in career digs for NW. Senior Delainye Woudstra finished the day with 11, alongside the 12 that both junior Kaitlin Beaver and Randa Hulstein produced.
Beaver also led the Raiders with 39 assists. Woudstra was 15-15 in serving.
After the win against Dordt, NW will compete as the No. 1 seed in the GPAC tournament. The Raiders will host the eighth seed Sioux Falls on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m.
Sioux Falls defeated the ninth seed Midland Lutheran in the first round of the tournament and is 19-18 on the year. NW defeated Sioux Falls 3-0 in both of their regular season match-ups.
After the GPAC tournament the Raiders hope to make a splash in the National Tournament. NW is ranked No. 3 nationally in the latest NAIA poll and will hope to receive a strong bid by doing well in the GPAC tournament.
