On Saturday Nov. 8 the NW volleyball team played their first game of the post season GPAC tournament. NW handily defeated their opponent, Mount Marty, winning all three sets, and moving ahead to the semifinals. The Raiders won the first set with a commanding ten-point lead. The second and third sets, however, were much more contentious. Mount Marty kept the pressure on the Raiders during the second set closing the gap to a score of 23-22. Mount Marty, however, fumbled their chance to overtake the Raiders with a back-to-back service error and attack error, giving NW their second win. The third match also had a strong push by Mount Marty as they brought the match to a 21-21 tie. However, they once again made an attack error, which NW took and ran with, bringing the third set to a final score of 27-25.
This win represents a continuation of the 45-game long win streak that NW has against Mount Marty. This win streak began on September 11, 1998, and has continued for over 27 years.
This strong performance in the GPAC tournament comes off the heels of an equally impressive regular season. The Raiders in their regular season won 25 games and only took home three losses to Eastern Oregon, Indiana Wesleyan, and Oklahoma Wesleyan. This means that NW this season has won all of their in-conference games. The regular season ended with the Raiders 14th win in a row and their first victory of the post-season gives them a 15-win streak. This season may also make the sixteenth season since the start of Kyle Van Den Bosch’s tenure 21 years ago that the Raiders have made an NAIA tournament appearance.
The semifinal match takes place on Nov. 12 and will have the Raiders facing off against Dakota Wesleyan in a home game. This game looks promising for NW as the Raiders have already faced Dakota Wesleyan twice this season and took home 3-0 victories both times. Since the start of the program in 1995, NW has dominated Dakota Wesleyan with 51 wins to only seven losses, so things are looking up for the Raiders.
