Game Time...No.5 Northwestern College is set to open pool play on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at the 2017 NAIA Volleyball National Championship held at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Northwestern, the top seed in pool E and fifth overall seed in the 32-team field, will play (RV) Lourdes (Ohio) on Tuesday night at 5pm. The Red Raiders will then play 21st-ranked Bellevue (Neb.) on Wednesday night at 6pm, followed by the final match in pool play on Thursday night at 8pm. 

Listen live to all of the matches via the KSOU broadcast at this link: Listen Now!

Live Stats of all matches at the NAIA Championships can be accessed through the NAIA Dakstats Portal, while a live broadcast of every match will be available through the NAIA Stretch Internet Portal (note: for a fee; the national championship match will be broadcast live on ESPN3).

All-Time...

    Northwestern is 0-1 all-time against Lourdes, losing 3-0 to the Gray Wolves at the Red Raider Classic in 2016.

    Northwestern is 9-6 all-time against Bellevue but lost the last match played against the Bruins, 3-1, at the Red Raider Classic in 2016. Northwestern is 1-0 all-time against the Bruins at the NAIA Championship, earning a 3-1 win in 2008.

    This will be the first ever match against College of Idaho.

Championship Format...A total of 32 teams are put in eight pools of four and every team will play the three other teams in their pool, one match per day, beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 28 and concluding Thursday, Nov.30. The two teams with the best record in each pool advance to play in a 16-team, single-elimination tournament, that will begin on Friday morning, Dec.1. The final eight (quarterfinals) will be later that night, followed by the semifinals on Saturday morning and the championship match on Saturday night, Dec. 2 at 7pm.

Scouting Reports...

    (RV) Lourdes University Gray Wolves: 10-5 (T3rd in WHAC), 22-11
        Head Coach: Greg Reitz (8th year)    Located: Sylvania, Ohio
        Tied for third with Siena Heights in the Wolverine Hoosier Conference
        1 of 3 team from WHAC in 32-team field
        lost to Cornerstone (Mich.) in WHAC championship
        earned automatic bid into championship by way of conference tment runner-up
        def. Webber International (Fla.) in opening round, 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-13)
        making fourth appearance to championship, third at final site (4-5 record)
            2013: lost in opening round
            2015: 1-2 in pool play; won play-in match
            2016: 1-2 in pool play; by to final site

        Coach Reitz returns two starters and four players from 2016 team that finished as the co-regular season champion of the WHAC with a 15-1 record and won the postseason title for the second straight year. They went 1-2 in pool play but did not advance to the round of 16, finishing with a 27-7 record. Hired in 2009 to start the Lourdes program, Reitz is the only coach in program history and also coaches the men's team. 

        Lourdes began the year ranked 22nd in the coaches' poll, earned votes in the next poll and then dropped out of the next four. They received votes in the final edition of the coaches' poll and have a 1-6 record against the 32-team field.

        By the Numbers:  (conf. rank/NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Kills/Set: 12.5 (3rd)
        Hitting Percentage: .177 (5th)
        Aces: 194 (5th)
        Blocks/Set: 1.9

        Top Players: (conf. rank/NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Genessee Tate: 2.6 kills/set, .206 %, 49 block (All-Conference)
        Tylar Roberson: 2.5 kills/set, .133 %, 3.2 digs/set, 41 blocks (All-Freshman)
        Kristin Murrell: 2.4 kills/set, .164 %, 28 aces, 3.4 digs
        Emily Arnold: 2 kills/set, .283 %, 139 blocks (2nd)(All-Conference)
        Jami Markus: 8.1 assists/set, 44 aces (5th)
        Angelica Dippold: 22 aces, 5.26 digs/set (3rd)(2x All-Conference)

    #21 Bellevue Bruins: 11-5 (3rd in NSAA), 29-11
        Head Coach: Trish Siedlik (12th year)    Located: Bellevue, Neb.
        Third in the North Star Athletics Conference; 1 of 3 NSAA teams in field
        lost to Viterbo (Wis.) in NSAA championship
        earned the 10th and final at-large bid into the championship
        def. Lincoln Christian (Ill.)in opening round, 3-0 (25-11, 25-9, 25-11)
        making 10th appearance to championship, 8th final site (13-19 record)
            2000, 2007-13, 2016-17; best-2008 in final 16
        
        Coach Siedlik returns seven rotation players from a 2016 team that finished second in the NSAA at 13-3. They went 1-2 in pool play to finish 32-12 overall. Siedlik has a .751 win percentage, fourth best among active coaches. 

        The Bruins opened the season ranked 20th and climbed as high as 19th for two weeks. They finished 21st in the final poll.

        By the Numbers:  (conf. rank/NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Kills/Set: 13.3 (2nd)
        Hitting Percentage: .206 (3rd)
        Aces: 230 (1st)
        Blocks/Set: 1.8 (5th)

        Top Players: (conf. rank/NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Shayla Scanlan 3.2 kills/set(2nd), .289% (4th), 101 blocks (3x All-Conference)
        Mikaylah Gillespie: 2.3 kills/set, .258% (7th), 125 blocks (8th) (2x All-Conference)
        Maddie Squiers: 10.6 assists/set (2nd/2nd), 62 aces (1st), 2.8 digs/set (2x All-Conference)
        Taylor Holz: 24 aces, 2.9 digs (2x All-Conference)
        
    #12 College of Idaho Lady Yotes: 15-5 (T2nd CCAC), 24-6
        Head Coach: Liz Mendiola (17th year)    Located: Caldwell, Idaho
        tied for 2nd in the Cascade Collegiate Conference; 1 of 4 CCAC teams in field
        lost to Corban (Ore.) in CCAC championship
        earned an auto bid by way of CCAC Tment runner-up
        received bye to final site
        making 12th appearance to championship, 11th final site (24-22 record)
            2000, 2005, 2006, 2008-15, 2017; best-quarterfinals in 2011

        Coach Mendiola has the most wins (395) and the best winning percentage during her tenure with the Lady Yotes program. The eight-time CCAC coach of the year has guided C of I to eight regular season and postseason conference titles. She returns six rotation players from a 2016 team that went 14-6 (4th) in the conference, 20-10 overall. 

        By the Numbers:  (conf. rank/NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Kills/Set: 14.0 (1st / 6th)
        Hitting Percentage: .240 (2nd)
        Aces: 187 (1st)
        Blocks/Set: 2.1 (T3rd)

        Top Players: (conf. rank/NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Taylor Alexander: 3 kills/set (6th), .275% (8th), 31 aces (3rd) 80 blocks (All-Conference)
        Ashley Pagan: 2.9 kills/set (7th), .190%, 21 aces, 3.3 digs/set (All-Conference)
        Brenna Meehan: 2.8 kills/set (9th), .196%, 28 aces (10th), 3 digs/set (2x All-Conference)
        Jackie Van Vliet: 2.4 kills/set, .317% (3rd), 128 blocks (2nd) (All-Conference)
        Marija Djonovic: 11.5 assists/set (1st/2nd), 2.3 digs/set (All-Conference)
        Kilee Lopez: 4.6 digs/set (5th), 30 aces (4th)

    No.5 Northwestern College: 14-2 (T1st), 28-4 overall
    Head Coach: Kyle Van Den Bosch (13th year)   
        co-regular season champions; 1 of 5 GPAC teams in field
        lost to #4 Dordt in GPAC semifinals
        earned the first at-large bid in the 32-team field
        received bye to final site
        making 13th appearance to championship, 13th final site (23-26 record)
            1991-92, 1994-96, 2006-10, 2013-14; best finish: quarterfinals in 1992, 2007-09
    
Van Den Bosch ranks second at NWC with 369 career wins and is the winningest coach in program history. Van Den Bosch has guided the Red Raiders to nine (6 reg./3 post) GPAC titles and eight national championship appearances. He returns three starters and seven players from a 2016 team that finished fifth in the GPAC at 10-6, 18-17 overall. 

By the Numbers: (GPAC rank/NAIA rank-if top 10)
Kills/Set-13.7 (2nd / 9th)
Hitting %-.293 (1st/3rd)
Aces-250 (1st/10th)
Digs-13 (11th)
Blocks/Set-1.95 (7th)

Key Players:
Anna Kiel-3.5 kills/set (5th), .373% (2nd/9th), 91 blocks, 2 digs/set (All-Conference)
A.J. Horstman  2.85 kills/set, .274 (8th), 41 aces (3rd), 74 blocks (2x All-Conference)
Lauryn Hilger  2.6 kills/set, .279% (7th), 29 aces, 2.8 digs/set (3x All-Conference; All-American)
Makenzie Fink-2.5 kills/set, .219%, 36 aces (5th), 1.85 digs/set (All-Conference)
Josie Blankespoor-1.3 kills/set, .305%, 106 blocks (8th) (All-Conference)
Lacey Wacker-11.3 assists/set (1st/4th), 35 aces (4th), 30 blocks (All-Conference; Freshman of Year)
Karsyn Winterfeld-82 aces (1st/1st), 2.7 digs/set (All-Conference)

With two more wins, Northwestern will have its 15th 30+ win season all-time; 8th during Van Den Bosch's time.

Seven NWC players earned all-conference honors; 3 on 1st team (Kiel, Horstman, Hilger), 2 on 2nd (Fink, Wacker), 2 HM (Blankespoor, Winterfeld)