Northwestern College lost to Dordt 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-20) in a GPAC semifinal match played tonight between ranked teams at the Bultman Center. The Red Raiders fall to 28-4 on the year and will wait for the NAIA to release the list of championship qualifiers on Monday, Nov. 13.
Lauryn Hilger and Anna Kiel both put down 12 kills to lead the Red Raiders and Makenzie Fink and A.J. Horstman added 11 kills each. Lacey Wacker totaled 43 assists in leading a Northwestern offensive attack that hit .222 (48 kills,126 attempts, 20 errors).
How It Happened...
The Red Raiders came away with a 25-23 first set win, a set that featured 14 ties, six lead changes and saw neither team with more than a two-point lead. Tied at 16, Northwestern went ahead for good after a kill by Horstman follwed by a Defenders error. The teams traded sideouts the rest of the way with Northwestern taking the set on a kill from Hilger. Both teams hit better than .300 and showcased their outstanding net play.
Dordt came back with a 25-14 win in set two, opening up a 7-2 lead behind the strong serving of Jamie Gesink. The Defenders never trailed, and, after Northwestern battled back to within two (10-8), Dordt came back with an 8-2 run to regain the momentum.
Following the eight-minute break in between sets, Northwestern started off strong with a 9-5 and later a 14-10 advantage. Gesink brought Dordt back, recording a couple of aces and serving six consecutive points to get the Defenders back in front,16-14. Northwestern would not get any closer as the Defenders were able to trade points, earning a 25-21 win in set three.
Dordt used a 6-0 run, served by Aubrey Drake, for a 13-8 lead in the final set. Northwestern rallied to get within two (21-19) following consecutive kills by Fink but Ema Altena converted a successful attack to stop the run and Dordt went on to win 25-20.
By the Numbers...
The Red Raiders did not have the edge in hitting percentage for just the fourth time this season, hitting 22% compared to 28% by the Defenders
Both teams totaled eight blocks; Kiel led NWC with 4.5 and Horstman added two
Dordt had a big edge from the service line, totaling nine aces compared to two by Northwestern; the Defenders were nearly perfect from the, missing just three times in 96 attempts (97%).
Kiel has hit for double figures in a team-best 26 matches
Horstman is second on the team with 16 matches of 10+ kills
Fink and Hilger have hit for double figures in 13 and 10 matches, respectively
Ema Altena led Dordt with 13 kills, followed closely by Leah Kamp with 11; Ally Krommendyk added nine kills in 16 attempts, hitting .500 for the match; Jamie Gesink put up 40 assists and totaled five aces.
