A.J. Kacmarynski put away a season-high 16 kills in leading Northwestern to a four-set win against Hastings to conclude a busy but productive week for the Raider volleyball team.
Northwestern earns its fourth victory of the week, pushes its overall win streak to six matches and improve to 8-1 in the GPAC, 10-1 overall.
Kacmarynski, senior outside hitter, led all players with 16 kills, hitting for double figures for the fourth time in her last five matches. She hit .316 at the pins and accounted for four blocks. Anna Wedel pounded 14 kills and hit .250 for the match. Makenzie Fink was one kill shy of double figures with nine, followed by Emily Van Ginkel with eight and Macay Van’t Hul with five. Van’t Hul was in on six blocks.
Lacey Reitz lofted up 42 assists and directed a Northwestern offense that hit 24% against one of the top blocking teams in the NAIA. Emily Strasser led the backrow play with a season-high 26 digs.
Set One: 25-21 loss
Each team went on a 4-0 run in the midst of the first set, leading to a Raiders 13-12 advantage. Northwestern led for the final time, 15-14, after a combination block from Kacmarynski and Van’t Hul, but Hastings used another 4-0 run to go up 18-14 on back-to-back kills by Emily Krolikowski. The Broncos were able to sideout the hosts from there, winning the first set 25-21. Hastings hit their match-best (.265) compared to a match-low (.152) by Northwestern.
Set Two: 25-21 win
Northwestern never trailed in set two, using a 6-2 spurt to take a 10-6 lead. Successful blocks by Kacmarynski, Reitz and Van Ginkel capped a 3-0 run to give Northwestern its largest lead, 19-11. Hastings made it close by the end, closing the deficit to three (24-21) until Fink ended the rally with a kill on set point.
Set Three: 25-23 win
The Raiders scored the first four points and for the second consecutive set, never trailed, in earning a close 25-23 win in the all-important third set. With Northwestern up five (19-14), Hasting rallied late, cutting the lead down to one, 24-23, and force the hosts into a timeout. A hitting error against the Broncos clinched the win for NWC.
Set Four: 25-21 win
Tied for the 11th and final time at 19, kills by Kacmarynski and Fink put Northwestern up for good late in the final set. Following a Hastings sideout, a Van’t Hul attack and block by Van Ginkel and Kacmarynski put Northwestern within two points from the match. Another kill by Kacmarynski a hitting error by Hastings on match point secured the Raider win.
Hastings hit .157 for the match and was led by Sydney Mullin and Krolikowski with 13 kills each.
