A.J. Horstman put down a match-high 16 kills in leading Northwestern to a 3-1 (25-18, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19) win over #15 Doane (Neb.) on senior night.
The Red Raiders finish the regular season in fifth place with a 10-6 record, 18-16 overall. They will be the fifth seed in next week's GPAC Postseason Tournament where they will meet up with Doane once again, who finished fourth in the conference with an 11-5 record, 22-7 overall.
Horstman was one of three Northwestern players who recorded double-figures in kills, leading the way with 16 in 45 attacks for a .200 percentage. Lauryn Hilger totaled 14 kills while Jessica Jensen added 12 kills and hit for a team-best .273. Jessa Doom had a double-double with 46 assists and 15 digs.
Strong Attack Leads To First Set Win
The teams split the first eight points until the Red Raiders converted on three consecutive attacks, getting two kills by Jensen and one from Hilger, to take a 7-4 lead. Northwestern would stay in front the rest of the set, although by just three (19-16) late until the hosts closed on a 6-2 run. Northwestern hit .310 in the opening frame, putting down 16 kills against just three errors.
Doane Comes Back Strong In Second
The Tigers put together a 6-2 run at the start of the second set behind the strong serving of setter Alex Neff and the play of Kaitlin Bradly at the net. The Red Raiders struggled to get anything going offensively, limited by the aggressive serving and blocking by the Tigers, hitting .000 in the second frame. Using its big lead from the start, Doane tied the match with a 25-17 win in set two.
Late Surge Proves To Be Difference in Tight Third Set
Just like the previous set, Doane started fast in the third, getting out to a 9-4 advantage. With Northwestern still down five later (14-9), kills by Hilger and Caley Vink along with an ace serve by Casey Perez brought the hosts back to tie the set at 17. The teams traded points over the next while, until, with Northwestern down 22-21, the Red Raiders scored four of the next five points to take the third set, 25-23, after an ace by Brooke Van Gorp.
Red Raiders Close Out Match With Strong Attack at Net
With the momentum in their favor, Northwestern came out firing in the final set, taking an 11-6 lead after a kill by Hilger. Doane closed to within three (14-11) but Jensen scored on three straight attacks and Jillian Estes followed with an ace to put Northwestern on top, 25-19.
By The Numbers...
The stats reveal a tight, competitive match with Northwestern hitting .214 and Doane at .216; the Red Raiders held the slight edge blocking (5-4) and aces (7-5)
Horstman recorded her 17th match with 10+ kills; Hilger has 29 matches with 10+ and Jensen 18
Van Gorp and Estes had two aces each
Vink led the Red Raiders blocking effort with 2.5
Doane was led by Maci Coffey with 13 kills in 30 attacks, hitting .400 on the rightside
Erin Warren led the defense with 21 digs
This was the final home match in the careers of the five seniors; Jessa Doom, Jillian Estes, Jessica Jensen, Taylor Stephens and Brooke Van Gorp.
