Orange City, Iowa — The Northwestern College volleyball team will make history this weekend as they play host to Trinity Christian (Ill.) on Saturday, April 17 in a NAIA Volleyball Championship Opening Round match.
First serve at the Bultman Center is scheduled for 7pm. This will be the first time in program history the Raiders have had to play in a play-in match to get to NAIA Championship Final Site.
Saturday’s opening round match will be the eighth all-time in the rivalry between Northwestern and Trinity Christian, dating back to the 1981 season. Northwestern is 6-1 against the Trolls, coming away with a win in the last five meetings. They have never met in the postseason.
Northwestern is making its fourth straight and 16th overall appearance at the NAIA Volleyball Championship, third most among this year’s field (Georgetown – 21, Madonna – 19). They are 31-31 all-time at the championship and have reached the quarterfinals five times, most recently last season.
Trinity Christian, one of two teams from the CCAC in the 48-team field (Olivet Nazarene) is making its fourth straight and seventh overall appearance to the NAIA Championship. They are 2-4 in opening round matches, advancing to the final site in 2013 and 2018. The Trolls have a 3-9 record at the championship.
This year’s championship will feature 24 opening round matches at campus locations on April 17; all 24 winners will move on to the final site, the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, for a week long final tournament from April 27 – 30.
Final site pools will be determined on Sunday, April 18, and released by 5pm.
