SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A big week for Northwestern resulting in a 5-0 week leads to Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) weekly honors for senior middle hitter Bekah Horstman being named the Defensive Player of the Week for the eighth-ranked Raiders.
A huge reason the Raiders went undefeated on the week, and remained perfect on the season, was due to Bekah Horstman (Sr., Pella, Iowa/Pella Christian) tallying a whopping 29 blocks, to go along with her 51 kills. She posted double-digit blocks (10.0) for the first time in her career in the 3-2 victory over (RV) Evangel. Topping her previous career-best of 7.0 blocks against Concordia (Neb.) last season. This week saw the Pella, Iowa native average 5.8 blocks per match and 1.7 blocks per set.
“Bekah had a dominating week at the net both in attacking and blocking,” said head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch. “She has been working very hard to be the best player she can be and it is great to see her get rewarded for her hard work.”
Competing in five matches on the week, playing 17 total sets, the Raiders remained dominant winning 15 of those sets. The first four matches of the week resulted in straight set victories for the Raiders, including a road win at Morningside (25-20, 25-23, 25-10) to start GPAC play on the right note.
At the Sioux City Tournament this past weekend, the Raiders breezed past three of the four opponents in straight sets, including William Jessup (Calif.) (25-20, 25-19, 25-21), Benedictine (Kan.) (25-19, 25-17, 25-21), and St. Francis (Ind.) (25-10, 25-12, 25-12). (RV) Evangel gave the Raiders their first true challenge of the season, forcing Northwestern to battle back from down 2-1, to prevail in five sets (25-15, 23-25, 23-25, 25-15, 15-8).
So far this season, Horstman leads the team in blocks (32) and is the only Raider to average over a block per set, sitting at nearly 1.5 blocks per set (1.41). She also leads the team in hitting percentage (.388) and sits second in both kills (71) and kills per set (2.63).
