The Northwestern College volleyball team lost to Jamestown in five sets, 3-2, in the final match of the fall regular season for both teams. Individual game scores were 25-17, 17-25, 24-26, 25-19, 15-8.
The Raiders conclude the fall season with a 13-3 league record, good for second place in the GPAC, 15-3 overall. Jamestown wins the conference regular season title with a 15-1 record, 18-1 overall.
Anna Wedel and Makenzie Fink put down 15 kills to lead Northwestern; Emily Van Ginkel contributed 13 kills, hitting .321 over the five-set match. Lacey Reitz lofted up 47 assists and commanded the Raider offense to hit .158, compared to a .204 efficiency for Jamestown.
The Jimmies also held the edge in blocks (15-4) and aces (5-4). Both Wedel and A.J. Kacmarynski put away two blocks each. Emily Strasser led the backrow play with 20 digs, followed by Reitz with 11 and Wedel with 10.
Set One: 25-17 loss
Strong serving from Taylor Meyer and kills from both Van Ginkel and Wedel put Northwestern in front 5-0. Jamestown scored 10 of the next 12 points, however, and the Jimmies did not trail after in earning a 25-17, first-set win.
Set Two: 25-17 win
Tied 8-8, Northwestern scored six of the next seven points with the serving by Fink and strong net play by both Van Ginkel and Kacmarynski. Jamestown rallied to get within three (18-15) but Northwestern closed with a 7-2 run, led by Wedel and the final two points on kills from Fink and Macay Van’t Hul.
Set Three: 26-24 win
The third set was tight and featured 24 ties as the teams traded points throughout. With Northwestern down 22-19, the largest deficit for any team, the Raiders came back to score five of the next six points and taking back the lead, 24-23, after an ace serve from Wedel and blocking error by Jamestown. Back-to-back kills by Fink finished off set three and put Northwestern in front 2-1.
Set Four: 25-19 loss
A block by Kacmarynski and Wedel gave Northwestern its final lead, 12-11, in set four. Jamestown then scored the next five points and outscored the Raiders 11-5 to come back and win set four, 25-19.
Set Five: 15-8 loss
A fast start put Jamestown in front 6-1 in the final set, only to have Northwestern come back and get within two (8-6). The Raiders seemingly cut the deficit down to one but a call reversal put the hosts back in front by three (9-6) and Jamestown finished the match with a 6-2 run.
Northwestern outhit Jamestown in sets two and three but was held in check by the Jimmies in the three set losses.
The Jimmies were led by Anna Holen with 15 kills, followed by Nicole Schmitz with 12.
