ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The No. 14-ranked Northwestern College volleyball team (16-9, 8-7 GPAC) fell in a hard-fought five set match to (RV) Concordia (Neb.) (13-10, 8-7 GPAC) on Senior Day Saturday evening inside the Bultman Center.
The Raiders celebrated three seniors prior to the match. Defensive specialist/libero Emily Strasser (Sioux Falls, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian/Physical Education major), middle hitter Bekah Horstman (Pella, Iowa, Pella Christian/Nursing major), and defensive specialist Natalie Engebretson (Wake Forest, N.C./North Raleigh Christian Academy/Chemistry major)
Freshman Alysen Dexter (Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) notched a career-high and match-leading 26 kills in the five-set thriller, while also tallying 10 digs for the Raiders. Horstman tallied 16, and Olivia Schaub (Jr., Scottsbluff, Neb./Gering) with 10.
Junior Jadeyn Schutt (Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) notched 32 assists and sophomore Olivia Granstra (So., Sheldon, Iowa/Western Christian) tallied 21 assists. Defensively, Macay Van’t Hul (So., Rock Valley, Iowa/Western Christian) had 5.0 blocks and Strasser had a match-high 26 digs.
The Raiders came out hot in front of the home crowd this afternoon, taking care of business in the first set, winning it 25-19. Jumping out to a 9-4 leading prompted a Bulldog timeout. Though the Bulldogs would battle back and make it 17-14, the Raiders were able to stave off a complete comeback and a 4-0 spurt closed out the set.
The second set proved to be the most action packed of the match. Concordia jumped out to an early 7-1 advantage and seemed content to coast the rest of the way. After a Northwestern timeout, Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch’s message in the huddle prompted a 6-0 run to eventually knot the match up at 8-8. Later in the set, a 4-0 Raider spurt would put them up 16-13 but the Bulldogs would not be deterred. A Bulldog 4-0 spurt would tie the set up at 21-21, and later at 24-24 Concordia would take the set thanks to back-to-back kills from Camryn Opfer.
Despite dropping a tough second set, the Raiders wouldn’t let that bother them as they stormed out in set three winning 25-17. An early 9-4 advantage quickly dissipated into a 9-8 lead after a 4-0 Bulldog run, but three straight Northwestern points firmly gave them momentum. The Raiders would take the match on a 4-0 run.
Ultimately, Concordia would take the fourth set 25-19 and, with it, taking the momentum into the decisive fifth set, 15-8.
Up Next: The Raiders will conclude regular season play on Tuesday night when the Morningside Mustangs (11-19, 1-13 GPAC) come to town to conclude the season series. First serve is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside the Bultman Center on the campus of Northwestern College.
