Northwestern College downed the University of Jamestown in four sets, handing the Jimmies their first loss of the season, in a conference match played tonight at the Bultman Center. The Raiders push their win streak to three and improve to 13-2 in the GPAC, 15-2 overall; Jamestown drops to 12-1 in the conference, 15-1 overall.
Anna Wedel put away a match-high 17 kills and totaled 14 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Makenzie Fink hit .522 and totaled 13 kills, five coming in the decisive fourth set, while Lacey Reitz lofted up 48 assists.
Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch’s squad hit .283 for the match, including an impressive 65% in the final set with 15 kills in 23 attempts. Northwestern totaled seven aces, compared to one by Jamestown, and had more blocks (10-6) than one of the top blocking teams in the NAIA.
Set One: 25-20 win
Northwestern scored the first four points and never let Jamestown take the lead in its first set win. Leading by three or four most of the way, the Jimmies outscored Northwestern 6-2 midway through for a 17-17 tie. A kill followed by an ace serve from Wedel put the Raiders in front for good while A.J. Kacmarynski and Emily Van Ginkel put away kills down the stretch to clinch the first set.
Set Two: 25-17 win
Serving runs by Taylor Meyer and Jadeyn Schutt put Northwestern in front 5-1 early in set two. With the Raiders up 13-10, Jamestown surged ahead for the the first time in the match with a 6-0 run, forcing a timeout. Now trailing 16-13, Northwestern closed with a 12-1 run behind the serving of Reitz and Wedel and winning set point after a block by Kacmarynski and Macay Van’t Hul.
Set Three: 25-23 loss
Another fast start by the hosts led to a 6-2 advantage only to have Jamestown rally and tie the score at nine. The teams traded points over the next while, until, with the score tied 22-22, Jamestown scored three of the final four points to take set three.
Set Four: 25-13 win
With Northwestern leading by three (12-9), the hosts outscored Jamestown 13-4, getting six kills from Fink, to take the final set 25-13.
Kacmarynski (8 kills, 4 blocks), Van Ginkel (7 kills, 4 blocks) and Van’t Hul (4 kills, 6 blocks) gave the Raiders great balance in their attack. Emily Strasser led the backrow with 17 digs.
Jamestown was led by Kalli Hagerle with 15 kills and Sydney Ellingson totaled 17 digs.
