Northwestern’s Lady Raider volleyball team competed at home in the Red Raider Classic held on July 29 and 30. They met with tough competition. Columbia College, ranked 5th in the nation, was among the fourteen teams present.
Northwestern went 3 and 1, winning against South Dakota Tech, Jamestown and Black Hills State, then losing in five games to Columbia in a hard fought battle.
In the South Dakota Tech game, sophomore Maggie Freiborg led with 11 kills, junior Stacy Friedrichsen 14 assists, and went 14/14 serving , junior Mikyla Hardersen had 4 aces, junior Carli Blom had 4 blocks, and senior Kelli Vermeer kept the team on their feet with 12 digs. Scoring was 30-24, 30-17, 30-22.
In the game against Jamestown College, stand-outs were junior Taylor Cook with 14 kills, Friedrichsen with 22 assists, Blom when 19-20 serving, and Vermeer with 19 digs. Scoring was 30-26, 30-26, 30-27.
The GPAC season opener on Sept. 3 came with a win for NW over University of Sioux Falls. Scores were 30-25, 30-21, 30-24.
Stand-outs for that game were Freiborg with 13 kills, Vermeer with 20 digs and Blom with 4 aces.
Last Tuesday night the Lady Raiders hosted Mount Marty in NW’s first GPAC home game of the year. The Lady Raiders won in three games. Scores were 30-16, 30-19, 30-28.
Stand-outs were junior Stacy Friedrichsen with 21 assists, Freiborg with 18 kills, and Blom with 12 kills.
Sentiment on the team is that this is only the beginning for them and they are expecting great things to come out of the season this year.
This year’s team is young, boasting seven freshmen players. Also new to the team is transfer Maggie Freiborg from the University of Minnesota.
Currently the Lady Raiders are 2-0 in the GPAC, and 5-1 over all this season.
The Lady Raiders are playing in the Midland Tournament this weekend. Next week they take on the Dordt Defenders Wednesday at home. The JV game is at 6 p.m. and Varsity plays at 7:30 in the Bultman Center.
