ORANGE CITY, Iowa – For the second straight season, the No. 21-ranked Northwestern College volleyball team (18-10, 9-7 GPAC) defended the Bultman Center in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Women’s Volleyball Championship – Opening Round with a straight sets win, downing the Indiana University Kokomo Cougars (28-9, 16-1 RSC) to advance to Sioux City.
“This was a great win for our team. We played aggressive and confident all night long. Each player did their role well tonight which allowed us to come out on top,” said head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch. “We are proud to be going to Sioux City to play for a National Championship!”
Bekah Horstman (Sr., Pella, Iowa/Pella Christian) carried the torch for the entire Raider team that was on fire tonight. The senior tallied a match-high 15 kills and an outstanding .560 hitting percentage in her final game from the Bultman Center, while also tallying eight blocks on the night.
The Raiders hit lights out on the night, as a team hitting .382 – 41 kills on 89 attempts with only seven errors. The reverse was true for the Cougars, 24 kills and 19 errors led to a .056 hitting percentage, while the Raiders tallied nine team blocks.
Northwestern set the tone in the very first set, holding the Cougars to just 11 points the entire set. The Raiders jumped out to a 19-9 advantage, forcing an IUK time out. In that span, the Raiders put away 12 kills, led by Horstman with four. The Raiders would easily close out the set, rightfully ending with a Horstman kill.
The second set saw the most fight from the Cougars, scoring the most points in any of the three sets at 15, but the story stayed the same – it was all Northwestern. IU Kokomo never had any real momentum all night, despite their crowd doing their best to give some energy. Northwestern would prevail 25-15, hitting a “cool” .440 in comparison with the .556 first set hitting percentage. The Raider defense held IUK to a .074 hitting percentage.
In the third set, the Cougars picked up the first point, but a 7-0 Raider run with Emily Strasser (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) serving, took the sails out of the Cougars ship. In that stretch, four Cougar service aces kept the Raider momentum going. Northwestern took complete control of the set with another 7-0 run, owning a 14-2 lead. Horstman tallied four kills in that run, as the Cougars had no answer for her. The rest of the third set was marked by multiple IUK attacking errors, as the Raiders took the set 25-12.
Alysen Dexter (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) also tallied double-digit kills with 11, while junior Jadeyn Schutt (Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) assisted on 23 of the Raiders’ 41 kills on the night. Both Olivia Granstra (So., Sheldon, Iowa/Western Christian) and Emmy Wedgbury (Fr., Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) recorded two service aces a piece.
Up Next: The Raiders will await their draw in Sioux City, set to be announced by the national office by 5:00 p.m. tomorrow, Sunday, November 21. The next round is set to commence on Tuesday, November 30 from the Tyson Events Center with a time and opponent to be determined. Stay tuned to @nwcraiders on Twitter and Facebook, as well as nwcraiders.com for the most up-to-date
