The Raider volleyball team picked up its 26th straight win Wednesday night with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-17) sweep of Morningside. NW now stands at a 27-1 record and 11-0 in the GPAC.
In the first match, the two teams were tied at 19 when NW went on a 6-2 run to end the match at 25-22. In match number two, the Raiders were tied at 6-6, but they never looked back and managed to cruise to a 25-17 win. NW was tied at 10-10 in the third match and again ended the match with a score of 25-17.
“Morningside always comes ready to play, and we wanted to match that from the get-go,” said junior outside hitter Kaitlin Floerchinger. “We keyed in on their big hitters and did our best to shut them down from beginning to end.”
NW hit .347 compared to Morningside’s .135.
Floerchinger led the team with 15 kills. Sophomore rightside hitter Karlie Schut recorded 12 kills. Sophomore middle hitter Kellie Goedken and sophomore outside hitter Haley Chambers each notched six kills. Sophomore setter Brooke Fessler had 37 assists.
“We focused on defending their attacks in practice earlier this week, and we’ve been working a lot on the fundamentals of blocking and digging,” Floerchinger said. “If we can master those, we can usually get any ball up that comes our way.”
On Saturday, NW defeated host Doane in a 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 26-24) shutout. The Raiders picked up a win in the first match with a decisively. In the second match, NW again flexed their muscles with a 25-17 win. Doane fought a hard third match, but fell short 26-24 to the Raiders.
Schut led NW with ten kills and a .333 scoring efficiency. Sophomore Payton Samuelson and Floerchinger notched six kills and two blocks each. Goedken had five kills and two blocks. Fessler recorded 21 assists and four kills. Junior defensive specialist Alexis Bart recorded nine digs.
The Raiders return to action on Friday playing host to Nebraska Wesleyan. The first match will start at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s a one game at a time mentality, and we’ve done a good job at focusing on that,” Floerchinger said. “Every team we meet is going to bring their all, and we just need to do the same.”
