Game Time...Northwestern College is set to begin an important weekend as they play a pair of GPAC matches on the road, beginning with a Friday night showdown against No.9 Midland. First serve in Fremont, Neb. is scheduled for 7:30pm. The Red Raiders will then head to Omaha, Neb. on Saturday, Oct. 21 for a 1pm match against College of Saint Mary. Northwestern, ranked third in the latest NAIA Coaches' poll, is tied with Dordt for second in the conference standings at 10-1, 23-2 overall. Ranked ninth in the NAIA, Midland is one game back of Northwestern/Dordt with a 10-2 league record, 17-5 overall and College of Saint Mary is 1-10 in league play, 8-14 overall. 

Follow the Midland match online via the Warriors webcast at this link: Watch Now! 

All-Time...Northwestern is 46-13 all-time against Midland, 5-5 over the last 10 match-ups. The Red Raiders lost both matches to Midland last year by 3-1 scores. Northwestern has won four straight matches against College of Saint Mary and is 9-5 all-time against the Flames.

Scouting Reports...

    No.9 Midland: 10-2 (4th), 17-5 overall     Head Coach: Paul Giesselmann (8th season)

Like Northwestern, Midland is in the thick of a conference regular season title chase, owning a 10-2 league record and just 1.5 matches out with four to play. They are alone in fourth place, trailing Hastings, Northwestern and Dordt, all teams that they will play over the next week. Midland is 17-5 overall and have a three match win streak coming into the weekend, defeating College of Saint Mary, Dakota Wesleyan and Doane. 

Head coach Paul Giesselmann is in his eighth season as the head of the Midland program and has over 400 wins at the NAIA level during his tenure both at Midland and College of Saint Mary. Giesselmann has guided Midland to three conference titles (2013, 2015-postseason; 2016-co-regular season) during his time, including last year when they shared the regular season title with Hastings at 14-2. Midland finished 31-4 overall, losing in the national semifinals, and return five starters and 11 players from last year's squad. 

    By the Numbers: (GPAC rank/NAIA-if top 10)
    Kills/Set-12.9 (5th)
    Hitting %-.210 (6th)
    Aces-131 (2nd)
    Digs-16.4 (3rd)
    Blocks/Set-1.9 (6th)
    
    Key Players:  (GPAC rank/NAIA-if top 10)
    Priscilla O'Dowd (2x All-American)-3.5 kills/set (4th), .398% (2nd/7th), 1.1 blocks/set (3rd)
    Jenny Bair (All-Conference)-2.2 kills/set, 31 aces (6th), 20 blocks
    Shelby Bretschneider-2.2 kills/set. .115%, 33 blocks
    Sydney Morehouse-2.1 kills/set, .286%, 38 blocks
    Jessica Peters (2x All-American) 10.3 assists/set (3rd), 2.5 digs/set, 27 blocks
    Jessica Nekl-23 aces, 4.5 digs/set (4th)

    College of Saint Mary: 1-10 (9th), 8-14         Head Coach: Rick Pruett (1st)

The Flames have dropped seven straight matches and are currently in ninth place in the GPAC with a 1-10 league record, 8-14 overall. Since a five-set win over Concordia on Sept. 27, CSM has dropped matches to Morningside, Doane, Hastings, Midland, Briar Cliff and Concordia, along with a non-conference loss to Saint Mary (Kan.). 

Pruett is in his first season as the Flames head coach, coming to CSM after a successful stint at Dakota Valley High School. Pruett is also the director of Midwest Volleyball Power, one of the top AAU programs in the area. He inherits a Flames' team that finished 3-13 in the GPAC, 7-17 overall. Six starters and nine players return from the 2016 season. 

    By the Numbers: (GPAC rank/NAIA-if top 10)
    Kills/Set-11.5 (8th)
    Hitting %-.142 (11th)
    Aces-111 (8th)
    Digs-15.4 (4th)
    Blocks/Set-1.6 (10th)

    Key Players:  (GPAC rank/NAIA-if top 10)
     Dani Carlson (All-Conference)  3.5 kills/set (5th),  .188%, 33 aces (4th), 2.4 digs/set, 35 blocks, 3.6 assists/set
    Payton Robley 2.2 kills/set, .152%, 22 aces, 3.8 digs/set
    Taylor Homes-1.5 kills/set, 45 blocks
    Natalie Patten-5.5 assists/set, 19 aces
    Emily Pongratz-16 aces, 3.9 digs/set

No.3  Northwestern College: 10-1 (T2nd), 23-2          Head Coach: Kyle Van Den Bosch (13th year)

The Red Raiders have won two straight and are tied for second in the GPAC at 10-1 with five matches left in the regular season. They are 23-2 overall, losing only to Corban (Ore.) and Dordt this season. Northwestern has wins over Concordia and Briar Cliff since falling to the Defenders in four sets. 

By the Numbers: (GPAC rank/NAIA rank-if top 10)
Kills/Set-14.2 (1st/7th)
Hitting %-.319 (1st/3rd)
Aces-206 (1st/10th)
Digs-12.9 (11th)
Blocks/Set-1.9 (9th)

Key Players:
Anna Kiel-3.7 kills/set (3rd), .412% (1st/4th), 70 blocks, 2 digs/set
A.J. Horstman (All-Conference in 2016) 3.1 kills/set, .312 (6th), 34 aces (2nd), 53 blocks
Lauryn Hilger (All-American in 2016) 2.6 kills/set, .305% (7th), 24 aces, 2.9 digs/set
Makenzie Fink-2.4 kills/set, .212%, 30 aces (7th), 1.9 digs/set
Josie Blankespoor-1.5 kills/set, .352%, 73 blocks (10th)
Lacey Wacker-11.7 assists/set (1st/1st), 27 aces (10th), 24 blocks
Karsyn Winterfeld-70 aces (1st/1st), 2.8 digs/set