Volleyball hits rough patch

Northwestern lost Wednesday night to GPAC leading Morningside (25-27, 18-25, 25-14, 25-23, 15-13) in a five-set thriller.
The Raiders are now 14-15 (7-5) on the year, and in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference.
The loss was worsened when sophomore middle hitter Megan Huston suffered a possible season-ending knee injury in the third game.
Her absence left a notable gap in the Raider attack, as she is leading the team in blocks and is third on the squad in kills.
The Raiders fought hard to win the first game, and used that momentum to grab a victory in game two. After Huston’s injury, NW had trouble adjusting to new bodies on the floor, and lost three straight.
Juniors Jaci Moret and Jennie Jansen tried to fill the offensive hole, posting 17 kills each. Moret, who also had nine digs, set a career-high with her hitting performance.  Senior Kate Boersma added 11 kills.
Freshman Kaitlin Floerchinger was all over the floor, setting up 53 assists, earning 11 digs and serving three aces. Junior Heather Goehring had two aces of her own.
In the back row, freshman libero Alexis Bart and senior Rylee Hulstein had 19 and 17 digs, respectively.
On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Raiders had their winning streak snapped as Doane swept NW in three games (29-27, 25-22, 25-18). The Raiders had trouble completing offensive attacks against Doane’s front line, and only hit .145 on the match.
“They were able to keep momentum on their side,” said freshman Mikinzie Phillips. ”We played a good game, but it wasn’t enough rally wins in a row to get a win.”
The first set was a battle with eight lead changes and 12 ties, but it was Doane who rallied to score three straight points and pick up the victory.
NW recovered to start out the second set 6-1, but Doane fought back to take the lead 15-13, and controlled the momentum for the rest of the match.
Jansen led the Raiders with 12 kills, and Moret was next in line with seven. Kaitlin Floerchinger lofted up 30 assists. Freshman Brandalyn Van Zee served up two aces.
Bart and Hulstein held down the defensive side of the ball, totaling 20 and 17 digs, respectively.
The Raiders know that to start a new winning streak to close the season, it will be necessary to jump on the opposition quick with excited play.
“We just have to start out great from the beginning, and try to keep our energy up,” Phillips said.
The Raiders will travel to Hastings this weekend for a Saturday matchup at 3 p.m.