Game Time...No.4 Northwestern College stands just one win away from reaching the conference tournament championship match for the first time since 2014 as the Red Raiders play host to No.5 Dordt College in the GPAC semifinals Wednesday night, Nov. 8. First serve inside the Bultman Center is scheduled for 7pm. The winner advances to play in the GPAC Title match on Saturday night, Nov. 11 at the highest remaining seed. 

Northwestern, seeded second in the eight-team postseason tournanent, is 28-3 overall and ranked fourth in the latest NAIA Coaches' poll. Dordt, the third seed, comes in with a 28-5 overall record and a No.5 ranking. 

Follow the match live via the NWC webcast at the following link: Watch Now! 

All-Time...Since 1989, Northwestern holds a slight edge in the series, 44-40, against the Defenders. During Coach Van Den Bosch's tenure (13 years), the Red Raiders are 21-12 against Dordt. 

Earlier This Year...This will be the third match between the two Sioux County rivals with each team winning on its home floor in four sets:

    Sept. 12-Northwestern College opened GPAC play with a 3-1 win (25-19, 19-25, 25-13, 25-20) over Dordt at the Bultman Center. The Red Raiders hit .331, led by Anna Kiel with 16 kills and both Makenzie Fink (15) and A.J. Horstman (12) were also in double figures. Lacey Wacker put up 46 assists and served three aces while Karsyn Winterfeld led the backrow with 15 digs. 

    Dordt hit .205 for the match, led by Ema Altena with 18 kills and Leah Kamp added nine. Summer Jansen totaled a match-high 23 digs to lead all backrow players. 

    Oct. 11 @ Dordt: Northwestern dropped its first GPAC match, losing to No.7 Dordt in four sets, 25-22, 30-28, 19-25, 25-22, in Sioux Center. A.J. Horstman led the Red Raiders with 16 kills and Kiel totaled 12, hitting .367 against the frontline of the Defenders. Northwestern hit .162 as a team and Wacker put up 36 assists. Van Den Bosch's squad had the advantage in aces (8-2) and three players, Horstman, Kiel and Lauryn Hilger, put up double figures in digs. 

    Altena once again led Dordt with 23 kills, followed by Kamp with 13. Ally Krommendyk added nine kills, hitting .500 for the match, to go with three blocks. 

Scouting Reports...

    No.5 Dordt College: 14-2 (T1st), 28-5    Head Coach: Chad Hanson (7th year)

The Defenders finished as the tri-GPAC regular season champion with a 14-2 record and are 28-5 overall. They are currently ranked fifth in the NAIA Coaches' poll, one of four GPAC teams in the top 15. They are 9-1 over their last 10 matches and have won five straight since a 3-2 loss at Hastings on Oct. 21. 

Chad Hanson, now in his seventh season as head coach, is 134-64 during his time and has guided the Defenders to three NAIA Tournaments, including the last two years. Last year, Hanson guided Dordt to a 28-8 overall record and a trip to the NAIA National Championship match where they lost to GPAC rival Hastings in five sets. Five rotation players return from the 2016 team, including two All-Americans. 

By the Numbers:
Kills/Set: 13.8 (T1st in GPAC)
Hitting Percentage: .250 (2nd in GPAC / 10th in NAIA)
Aces: 167 (3rd in GPAC)
Blocks/Set: 2.2 (2nd in GPAC)

Individual Leaders:  (GPAC/NAIA rank-if top 10)
Ema Altena: 2016 All-American - 4.5 kills/set (1st/5th), .289 (6th), 39 aces (3rd)
Leah Kamp: 2.8 kills/set, .302 kill efficiency (5th), 103 blocks (10th)
Julia Lindbergh: 2.2 kills/set; .186 kill efficiency
Ally Krommendyk: 1.9 kills/set, 125 blocks (4th)
Jamie Gesink: 2x All-American - 1.2 kills/set, 10.6 assists/set (2nd), 31 aces
Summer Jansen: 2x All-Conference; 25 aces, 5.2 digs/set (1st)

    No.4 Northwestern College: 14-2 (T1st), 28-3     Head Coach; Kyle Van Den Bosch (13th year)

The Red Raiders were the tri-GPAC regular season champions, along with Dordt and Hastings, finishing with a 14-2 league record. This is the first regular season title since winning three straight (2012-14) and the fifth overall in Van Den Bosch's 13-years at NWC. Northwestern is 28-3 overall, two wins shy of its eighth 30-win season under Van Den Bosch. 

By the Numbers: (GPAC rank/NAIA rank-if top 10)
Kills/Set-13.8 (T1st)
Hitting %-.296 (1st/3rd)
Aces-248 (1st/)
Digs-13.2 (11th)
Blocks/Set-1.97 (7th)

Key Players:
Anna Kiel-3.5 kills/set (5th), .375% (2nd/9th), 85 blocks, 2 digs/set
A.J. Horstman (All-Conference in 2016) 2.85 kills/set, .276 (8th), 40 aces (3rd), 71 blocks
Lauryn Hilger (All-American in 2016) 2.6 kills/set, .281% (7th), 29 aces, 2.9 digs/set
Makenzie Fink-2.5 kills/set, .219%, 35 aces (4th), 1.89 digs/set
Josie Blankespoor-1.4 kills/set, .315%, 105 blocks (7th)
Lacey Wacker-11.3 assists/set (1st/3rd), 35 aces (4th), 30 blocks
Karsyn Winterfeld-82 aces (1st/1st), 2.7 digs/set