Orange City, Iowa — After a pair of “tune-up” matches this spring, the 7th-ranked Northwestern College volleyball team has its sites set on a lengthy postseason run which will begin this weekend when they host (RV) Hastings in the GPAC Quarterfinals. First serve on Saturday, April 3 is set for 3pm.
Northwestern owns a 30-27 advantage in a rivalry that dates back to the 1993 season. The Raiders have had the upper hand of late as well, winning four straight and are 7-3 in their last 10 matches against Hastings.
Earlier This Season…After dropping the first set 25-21, Northwestern won the final three sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-21) to earn a four-set win against the Broncos in a regular season match played last fall in Orange City.
Northwestern had the edge in hitting percentage (24% – 19%) and blocks (13-6) while Hastings had the slight advantage in aces (3-2). The Raiders hit better than .300 during the final two sets.
The Raiders were led by the outside hitter duo of A.J. Kacmarynski (16 kills, .316) and Anna Wedel (14 kills, .250) while Makenzie Fink contributed nine kills. Emily Van Ginkel provided eight kills and hit nearly .400 while Lacey Reitz commanded the offense with 42 assists. Emily Strasser was the leader in the backrow with 26 digs.
Hastings was led by Sydney Mullin and Emily Krolikowski with 13 kills each.
The Broncos are one of seven teams from the GPAC recognized in the latest NAIA Coaches’ poll and are 9-9 this season. They finished seventh during the regular season with a 7-8 record and have played just one match this spring, defeating McPherson (Kan.) in four sets.
Allard is in her second year as head coach, coming to the Broncos in 2019 after serving as an assistant for University of Incarnate Word in Texas. Allard returns six players from their rotation, eight total, from a 2019 team that finished ninth in the GPAC with a 6-10 record, 11-15 overall. They missed out on the conference tournament. Hastings won the national title in 2016 with a 33-3 mark.
Northwestern won both of its spring matches, defeating No.20 Viterbo (3-0) and No.11 Grand View (3-1), to bring a 17-3 overall record into Saturday’s quarterfinal.
