Northwestern College’s volleyball team hosted 2nd-ranked Viterbo University on Saturday (WI). The game was a rematch from last year’s national tournament, and the Red Raiders were looking to avenge their loss; however, they were ultimately outmatched losing 3-1.
The Viterbo V-Hawks jumped out to an early advantage in the first set, and after a couple of runs by NW, pulled away to win 25-19. In the second set, NW came out strong, taking the lead by eight points (16-8) at one time. The V-Hawks eventually made it close, but the Red Raiders won the second set 25-22. In the third set, the V-Hawks jumped to an early advantage, which sparked a NW comeback, erasing a nine point deficit. The teams ended the set trading scores and the V-Hawks claimed the win.
Needing to win the fourth set to keep hope alive, NW came out strong. After creating a pair of four-point leads it seemed NW was in control. The V-Hawks then went on a 9-2 run to take the lead for good, winning the set 25-23 and the game 3-1.
“Playing elite competition like Viterbo really showed our team that we can play with the best the NAIA has to offer,” said head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch. “Even without the high of the win, we took away confidence to know we can play at a high level.”
Sophomore Jessica Van Beek led NW with 12 kills. Senior Karlie Schut and freshman Lauren Hilger each had eight kills. NW had eight ace serves on the night, led by junior Amber Pater’s three and Schut’s two. Junior Jessa Doom had 30 assists on the day.
Other Games
NW hosted a non-conference matchup with York College on Monday. The Red Raiders dominated the entire match winning in three sets (25-20, 25-17, 25-17). NW had a really good balance in this game with all of their hitters hitting better than .300 and each having at least seven kills. Doom led the Red Raiders serve attack with four aces.
On Wednesday, the Red Raiders hosted a conference match-up against Dakota Wesleyan. With 3-0 sweep NW moves to 4-0 in conference play and 16-3 overall. The Raiders are now ranked 11th in the NAIA.
“We want to focus on improving each chance we get to play,” Van Den Bosch said. “We want to put ourselves in position to contend for the conference title at the end of the regular season.”
NW will host the Concordia Bulldogs on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Dordt College Defenders will travel to NW Wednesday evening to take on the No. 11 Red Raiders.
NW is 16-3 on the season overall and 4-0 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
