Sioux City, Iowa — The Northwestern College volleyball team opened the 2021 NAIA Championship with a flare for the dramatic, coming from a 2-1 deficit to defeat #21 Oklahoma City in five sets, in the first match today in pool E played Tuesday at the Tyson Events Center.
The Raiders improve to 21-4 on the season, and, more importantly, 1-0 in pool E as they head into Wednesday’s showdown against #13 Corban. The Warriors downed Oklahoma City in four sets this evening.
Anna Wedel put away 18 kills and totaled 12 digs, her 10th double-double of the season, to lead Northwestern. A.J. Kacmarynski totaled a season-high 17 kills, hitting an impressive .351 over the five sets, and Makenzie Fink totaled 12 kills, three in the final set, giving the Raiders three players in double figures.
Faced with a must-win fourth set, Northwestern used a pair of 5-0 runs, one with Bri Kleinwolterink at the service line and the other with Jadeyn Schutt, to earn a 25-19 win.
Now in a winner-take-all fifth set, Oklahoma City came out strong with a 4-2 lead. Northwestern responded in a big way, scoring the next six points and closing the match with a decisive 13-2 run for the win. Kills from Kacmarynski and Fink along with an ace serve from Emily Strasser keyed the match-ending run while Wedel put the exclamation point the come-from-behind win with a huge smash on match point. Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch’s squad hit .526 in the final set (10 kills, 19 attempts).
Northwestern held the advantage in nearly every stat category, hitting .299 compared to .157 by OKC and a 9-7 edge in blocks. The Raiders hit better than the Stars in all but the third set.
Lacey Reitz finished with 50 assists, three shy of matching her season-high, and 12 digs, her 10th double-double of the season.
Northwestern held a slight lead most of set one until the Stars used back-to-back 3-0 runs to turn a two-point (18-16) deficit into a 22-19 lead. The teams played sideout volleyball over the final points resulting in a 25-22 win for OKC.
Close for the majority of set two, Northwestern used a late 7-2 run, behind the play of Wedel, to earn a 25-19 win. Oklahoma City had a fast start in set three, getting out to a 9-5 advantage and Northwestern did not get closer than four for the rest of the set.
Oklahoma City was led by Lacy Beeler with 19 kills and Catelyn Vargas totaled 15 in 31 attempts, hitting .290.
Emily Strasser and Olivia Granstra led the Raider defense with 14 digs each and Taylor Meyer served three aces.
