BELLEVUE, Neb. – The battle of the two unbeatens goes the way of Bellevue as Northwestern College volleyball team (8-1, 1-0 GPAC) drops their first match of the season to No. 12-ranked Bellevue (6-0, 0-0 NSAA) on the road Tuesday evening in Bellevue, Neb.
The match was a battle at the net with many continuations and a combined 13 blocks on the night between the two squads. Bellevue picked up 14 more kills than the Raiders on the match and out hit Northwestern .181 to .174, which proved to be the difference in the match.
Alysen Dexter (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Christian), Olivia Schaub (Jr., Scottsbluff, Neb./Gering), and Katie Peters (Jr., Le Mars, Iowa/Gehlen Catholic) all recorded double-digit kills. Dexter paced the team with 13 kills and two service aces on the night.
Northwestern got off to a slow start in the match, finding themselves trailing 8-1 early in the first set. Though the Raiders tried to battle back in the set, it was too much of a whole to overcome as the Bruins would take the opening set 25-19.
The second set was a complete flip of the script in comparison to the first set. After taking the final eight of the eleven points of the first set, the Raiders looked to use the gained momentum early in the second set. Thanks to a pair of blocks from this week’s NAIA Defensive Player of the Week Bekah Horstman (Sr., Pella, Iowa/Pella Christian) and service aces, the Raiders jumped out to a 5-2 advantage forcing Bellevue to burn a time out. With the momentum firmly on the Raiders side, Northwestern jumped out to a 17-8 advantage as the Bruins took their second time out of the set.
For the first time of the evening, the Raiders took the opening point of the third set and got out to an 11-6 lead as Bellevue took another early timeout, as momentum early on stayed with the Raiders. After the time out, a 5-1 Bruin run threatened to give the momentum back to Bellevue causing head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch to call time out with the Raiders clinging to a 12-11 set lead. The Raiders responded well after the time out, but yet again it was the Bruins that fought their way back to make it 20-19 Raiders. Ultimately, Northwestern prevailed 25-22, to take the 2-1 match lead.
Bellevue wouldn’t go down without a fight as an early 11-7 advantage warranted a Northwestern time out to try and settle down and get back on track. And that is exactly what would happen. After the time out, the Raiders ripped off 4-1 run to get back into the set, trailing 12-11. A long rally would go the way of the Bruins, giving them a 14-11 lead and the momentum, forcing yet another Raider time out. The Raiders couldn’t muster a comeback of their own as Bellevue would take the fourth set 25-17.
The deciding fifth set was back-and-forth as Bellevue took the early 3-1 advantage. Trailing 7-4, Northwestern would battle to tie it up at 8-8, before the Bruins jumped back out to a 10-8 lead and a Raider time out. Following the break in the action, the Raiders jumped out in front to a 11-10 lead thanks to a kill from Dexter and a block from Jadeyn Schutt (Jr., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) and Macay Van’t Hul (So., Rock Valley, Iowa/Western Christian). Bellevue jumped back in front with a 13-12 advantage prompting the final Raider time out. In an exciting match, the fifth set would be decided in extra points but it would be the Bruins that would prevail with a block to end the match, taking set 5 16-14.
Olivia Granstra (So., Sheldon, Iowa/Western Christian) and Schutt again split setting duties on the night as both recorded 22 assists on the match. National Defensive Player of the Week Horstman stayed hot recording seven more blocks.
Up Next: The Raiders are set to welcome the No. 2-ranked Jimmies of the University of Jamestown to Orange City on Friday for the second GPAC match of the season. Though the Jimmies are coming to Orange City, the match won’t take place in the Bultman Center, but rather at MOC-Floyd Valley High School. First serve scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
