No.9 Northwestern College downed No.14 Hastings 3-1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-19, 25-23) in a GPAC Semifinal match between ranked teams played tonight at the Bultman Center. The win propels the Red Raiders into the GPAC Championship for the first time since the 2014 season where they will play at No.1 seed Dordt on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7pm.
Lauryn Hilger put down a match-high 20 kills and hit .459 for the match against the tall front line of the Broncos. Makenzie Fink floored 16 kills, hitting .481, and Bekah Horstman totaled eight kills and 1.5 blocks.
Northwestern improves to 24-6 on the year; Hastings drops to 19-6 as the Broncos will have a long layoff prior to playing in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship.
The Red Raiders hit .409 for the match and held the advantage in hitting percentage in all four sets. Both teams totaled six blocks and four aces. Lacey Wacker put up 46 assists and seven digs and Ann Pater accounted for 10 digs. Both Hilger and Emily Strasser registered nine digs each.
