Northwestern College earned a four-set win over a scrappy Briar Cliff team in a conference match-up played tonight in Sioux City, Iowa. The Raiders improve to 3-1 in the GPAC, 5-1 overall; Briar Cliff lost its ninth straight match and falls to 0-7 in the conference, 4-9 overall.
Anna Wedel led Northwestern with 15 kills, one of three players with double figure kills for Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch’s squad. Wedel has 10+ kills in five of six matches this season and also put up 14 digs. Makenzie Fink hit a match-best .407 and totaled 13 kills to go with a season-high four ace serves. Emily Van Ginkel put away 11 kills out of a season-high 29 attacks and recorded three blocks.
Set One: 25-23 win
Northwestern outlasted Briar Cliff in a tigh first set that featured 16 ties and seven lead changes. The Chargers held the largest lead of the set (7-4) while Northwestern had its biggest advantage (2) three different times. Tied 22-22, Northwestern scored three of the final four points, going ahead for good on successive kills by Fink and Lacey Reitz. A successful attack from A.J. Kacmarynski on set point made the final score 25-23. Both teams hit better than 20% in the first set.
Set Two: 25-20 loss
Tied at 10, Briar Cliff went on a 6-2 run, finished off with a kill from Grace Hanno, to force Northwestern into a timeout. The Raiders managed to cut into the deficit and trailed by two (21-19) following a kill by Fink. Briar Cliff, however, closed on a 4-1 run and tied the match 1-1 with a 25-20 win.
Set Three: 25-21 win
Down early in the third set, a 6-1 run put Northwestern in front 11-8. Briar Cliff rallied, tying the score at both 15 and 16, but a kill by Van Ginkel triggered a 4-0 run to give the Raiders the lead for good. Fink and Reitz had aces during the final run.
Set Four: 25-21 win
Just like in set three, Northwetsern fell behind early in the final set, 4-1 and 10-7. A service error by Briar Cliff followed by a kill from Wedel and a block by Van Ginkel brought the Raiders back, 10-10. Still tied at 13, another kill from Wedel gave the Raiders the lead for good as they pulled away for a 24-18 advantage. Van Ginkel ended the match with her 11th kill from an assist by Reitz.
Northwestern hit .191 compared to .222 by BCU; both teams served five aces. Reitz lofted up 42 assists and Emily Strasser led the backrow with 18 digs.
