Following a tri-regular season championship and a top five ranking in the national polls, Northwestern College landed seven of its players on the 2017 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Volleyball All-Conference teams as announced by the league office earlier today.
Three Red Raiders earned first team honors, including junior Lauryn Hilger and sophomores A.J. Horstman and Anna Kiel. Two players, Makenzie Fink and Lacey Wacker, landed on the second team while both Josie Blankespoor and Karsyn Winterfeld claimed honorable mention accolades. Wacker earned additional postseason recognition in being named the GPAC Freshman of the Year.
Says Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch: “When our team has success, then individual honors will follow and we were well represented in the all-conference awards. We are excited and proud of our regular season and to represent the GPAC as one of its champions. We are also looking forward to the experience and competing at the upcoming NAIA Championship.”
2017 All-Conference
First Team
Lauryn Hilger
A.J. Horstman
Anna Kiel
Second Team
Makenzie Fink
Lacey Wacker (GPAC Freshman of the Year)
Honorable Mention
Josie Blankespoor
Karsyn Winterfeld
Kiel earns first team honors in her first year with the Red Raider volleyball program. The sophomore middle hitter is one the top hitters in the GPAC, averaging 3.5 kills per set while hitting at a .375 clip, second best in the conference and ninth in the NAIA. Kiel accounts for 85 blocks, second best on the team, and puts up two digs per set. She has hit for double figures in a team-best 26 matches and has three double-doubles on the year.
Blankespoor ranks eighth in the GPAC with a team-high 105 blocks while also hitting 32% from the middle hitter position. The freshman averages 1.4 kills and has hit for double figures in one match.
Winterfeld is a dominating presence in the backrow for the Red Raiders, ranking second on the team in digs (2.7) while also leading the NAIA with 82 ace serves. The freshman has at least one ace serve in all but two matches this season.
Northwestern, with a 28-4 overall record, earned an opening round bye and will be one of the 32 teams at the final site (Sioux City) of the 2017 NAIA Volleyball National Championship, beginning Nov. 28. The Red Raiders will find out their seed and pool play assignment on Monday, Nov. 19.
