Game Time...No.3 Northwestern heads to Sioux City, Iowa, for a GPAC match-up against Morningside on Wednesday, Oct. 25. First serve at the Rosen Verdoorn Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:30pm. Northwestern is tied with Hastings in the current GPAC standings with a 12-1 record, 25-2 overall. Morningside, ranked 20th in the latest NAIA coaches' poll, is in fifth place with an 8-5 conference record, 16-10 overall. 

Listen to the match live via the KSOU broadcast at this link: Listen Now!

All-Time...Northwestern is 26-11 all-time against Morningside, winning 10 of the last 11 matches against the Mustangs. Earlier this year, the Red Raiders earned a 3-0 sweep (25-15, 25-15, 25-19) over Morningside on Oct. 3 in the Bultman Center. 

Last Time vs Morningside...Anna Kiel put down a match-high 19 kills in leading Northwestern to a sweep over Morningside earlier this year. Kiel hit .655 for the match and added three blocks while A.J. Horstman totaled 11 kills, four digs and 1.5 blocks. 

Northwestern hit .383 for the match and held edge both in blocks (6-4) and ace serves (6-0). Lacey Wacker put up 38 assists and both Lauryn Hilger and Karsyn Winterfeld led the backrow with 12 digs each. 

Krista Zenk led Morningside with 11 kills and Nikki Oberfoell added 12 digs. 

Scouting Reports...

    No.20 Morningside College: 8-5 (5th), 16-10 overall     Head Coach: Beth Donnelly (3rd year)

Morningside has lost two straight and three of its last five matches, all to ranked teams (Northwestern, Dordt and Hastings). They own an 8-5 conference record and are in fifth place in the current standings, two games in back of Midland and two games up on Briar Cliff. The Mustangs are 16-10 overall and most recently lost to both Dordt and Hastings by 3-0 scores.

Donnelly, in her third season as the head coach of the Mustangs, returns eight players from their rotation off a 2016 team that finished sixth in the GPAC with an 8-8 record, 20-15 overall. They qualified for their first NAIA National Championship since 2012, going 1-2 in pool play where they defeated Park (Mo.) in five sets. Morningside was ranked 24th in the final poll of 2016. 

By the Numbers:  (GPAC rank/NAIA rank if top 10)
    Kills/Set:      13.27 (4th)
    Hitting %:     .210 (4th)
    Aces:           108 (9th)
    Digs/Set:     17.0 (3rd)
    Blocks/Set: 2.2 (2nd)

Individual Leaders: (GPAC rank/NAIA rank if top 10)
    Jayde Bergmann (all-conference)-2.6 kills/set, .217 %, 58 blocks
    Emma Gerber-2.41 kills/set, .266% (9th), 68 blocks
    Jenn Buyert (2x all-conference)-2.4 kills/set, .201, 40 blocks
    Brittni Olson (all-conference)-2.1 kills, .320% (6th), 90 blocks (6th)
    Callie Alberico 8.5 assists/set (8th), 19 aces
    Nikki Oberfoell  18 aces, 4.8 digs/set (3rd)

    No. 3 Northwestern College: 12-1 (T1st), 25-2    Head Coach-Kyle Van Den Bosch (13th year)

The Red Raiders have won four straight matches, earning wins over Concordia, Briar Cliff, No.9 Midland and College of Saint Mary. They are tied with No.4 Hastings for first place in the GPAC at 12-1 with three matches left in the regular season. Northwestern owns a 25-2 overall record, most wins since the 2014 season. 

By the Numbers: (GPAC rank/NAIA rank-if top 10)
Kills/Set-13.9 (1st/8th)
Hitting %-.312 (1st/3rd)
Aces-222 (1st/8th)
Digs-12.9 (11th)
Blocks/Set-1.9 (8th)

Key Players:
Anna Kiel-3.6 kills/set (3rd), .399% (1st/5th), 75 blocks, 2 digs/set
A.J. Horstman (All-Conference in 2016) 2.95 kills/set, .302 (6th), 36 aces (2nd), 57 blocks
Lauryn Hilger (All-American in 2016) 2.55 kills/set, .298% (7th), 26 aces, 2.9 digs/set
Makenzie Fink-2.45 kills/set, .212%, 31 aces (7th), 1.84 digs/set
Josie Blankespoor-1.4 kills/set, .344%, 84 blocks (9th)
Lacey Wacker-11.5 assists/set (1st/2nd), 31 aces (10th), 26 blocks
Karsyn Winterfeld-75 aces (1st/1st), 2.8 digs/set