Third-ranked Northwestern edged No.9 Midland in a five-set thriller (26-24, 25-17, 14-25, 15-25, 15-13) for a key road win in a GPAC match-up played tonight at the Wikert Event Center in Fremont, Neb. The Red Raiders improve to 11-1 in the GPAC, 24-2 overall, while Midland drops to 10-3 in conference play, 17-6 overall. 

Anna Kiel led Northwestern with 15 kills while Makenzie Fink put down 11 kills and added nine digs. Lacey Wacker lofted up 35 assists and directed a Red Raider offense that hit .103 for the match. Karsyn Winterfeld led the backrow with 17 digs, one of four Red Raiders in double figures (Lauryn Hilger-16, A.J. Horstman-14, Wacker-10). 

Red Raiders Outlast Midland In Tight First Set Win

Northwestern scored the final two points to break a 24-24 tie and win the opening set 26-24. There were a total of 12 ties and nine lead changes and Northwestern held the largest lead, 12-9, following a kill by A.J. Horstman. Midland came back with three straight points and the teams traded points thereafter with neither squad able to pull away. Tied at 24, a Midland service error gave control back to Northwestern, and Lauryn Hilger served an ace on set point to give the Red Raiders a 1-0 lead. 

Northwestern Scores Final Eight Points In Second Set

Midland started fast in the second, opening up a 10-6 lead to force the Red Raiders into a timeout. With Northwestern still down three (16-13), Kiel scored on successive kills to spark a 4-1 run and tie the set at 17. The Red Raiders then closed with an 8-0 run, sparked by the serving of Wacker, to finish off Midland 25-17 in set two. Horstman picked up a kill and then combined with Josie Blankespoor for a block during the decisive run.

Midland Controls Play In Third Set

The Warriors stormed out to a 9-5 lead and never trailed in a convincing 25-14 win in set three. Northwestern surged to get within two (14-12) but Midland outscored the Red Raiders 11-2, getting two kills each from All-American Priscilla O'Dowd and Jenny Bair. 

Warriors Send Match To Fifth Set With Convincing Fourth Set Win

Just like in set three, Midland got off to a fast start and led throughout en route to a 25-15 win. The Red Raiders fell behind 11-4, fought back to get within five (15-10) after a kill by Hilger, but Midland closed with a 15-5 run to force the final set. 

Northwestern Takes Match With 15-13 Win

The final set featured eight lead changes and 10 ties, the final one at 11-11 following a kill by Fink. An ace by Wacker followed by another kill from Fink put the Red Raiders in front by two (13-11) and they were able to trade points the rest of the way to hold on for the win.

By the Numbers...

Northwestern hit .103 for the match compared to .151 for Midland; Fink hit 16% to lead the Red Raiders

Blankespoor led Northwestern with 3.5 blocks; Horstman totaled 1.5; Northwestern had nine blocks for the match compared to 13 for Midland

Northwestern had six aces, two each by Wacker and Horstman

O'Dowd led Midland with 15 kills and six blocks while hitting .282 for the match; Bair was also in double figures with 12