Game Time...A pair of top 20 teams pair up this weekend as No.11 Northwestern hosts No.15 Doane for a key GPAC match-up. First serve at the Bultman Center is scheduled for 3pm. Northwestern is unbeaten in GPAC play (3-0) and sports a 16-1 overall record. Doane heads into the weekend with a 1-2 conference record, 9-6 overall. 

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

All-Time...Northwestern leads the all-time series 34-20 and is 6-4 over the last 10 match-ups against Doane. The Red Raiders went 1-2 last year against Doane with each team winning on their home court during the regular season and the Tigers knocking off NWC at Crete, Neb. in the GPAC Quarterfinals. 

Scouting Reports...

    No.15 Doane University: 1-2 (GPAC), 9-6    Head Coach: Gwen Egbert (5th year)

Doane has dropped two straight and three of its last four matches heading into contests against No.24 Morningside (Friday night) and No.11 Northwestern (Saturday afternoon). The Tigers are 1-2 in league play, defeating Concordia in four sets and losing to No.1 Hastings (3-0) and No.6 Dordt (3-1). They have wins over No.18 MidAmerica Nazarene and No.21 Indiana Wesleyan earlier this year. 

Egbert, in her fifth season at Doane, was a highly successful coach at both Papillion-LaVista and Papillion-LaVista South High Schools. She was named the Lincoln Journal Star Coach-of-the-Year in 2002 and 2012 while earning the Omaha World Herald honor in 2003. Last year, Egbert guided Doane to a fourth place finish in the GPAC, going 11-5, and to the 32-team national tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. Doane advanced out of pool play with a 2-1 record and lost to Columbia in the round of 16 to end the season at 25-10. Four starters return from last year's squad. 

By the Numbers:
Kills/Game: 12.1 (10th)
Hitting Percentage: .186 (8th)
Aces: 82 (5th)
Blocks/Game: 2.1 (4th)

Key Players:
Allison Kuenle: 3.4 kills/game (8th), .185 hitting percentage, 3.1 digs/game
Maci Coffey (2nd team all-conference): 3.2 kills/game, .270 hitting %, 37 blocks
Alexis Dale: 1.2 kills per game, 49 blocks (6th)
Alex Neff (1st team all-conference): 9.9 assists/game (5th), 16 aces
Erin Warren (2nd team all-conference): 17 aces (9th), 3.95 digs/game

 No.11 Northwestern College: 3-0 (GPAC), 16-1    Head Coach: Kyle Van Den Bosch (13th year)

Northwestern has won 13 straight matches, the longest win streak since the 2014 season (14 straight)

The Red Raiders are one of three teams with an unbeaten record in GPAC play (Midland, Hastings)

By the Numbers:
Kills/Game: 14.5 (2nd GPAC, 7th NAIA)
Hitting %: .328 (1st GPAC, 3rd NAIA)
Aces: 149 (1st GPAC, 2nd NAIA)
Blocks/Game: 1.8 (8th)

Key Players: 
Anna Kiel: 3.8 kills/game (4th), .419 (1st GPAC, 2nd NAIA), 42 blocks, 1.9 digs
A.J. Horstman: 3.2 kills/game, .342 hit % (4th), 28 aces (2nd GPAC), 38 blocks, 1.8 digs
Lauryn Hilger: 2.6 kills/game, .300 (8th GPAC), 20 aces (6th GPAC), 3 digs
Makenzie Fink: 2.4 kills/game, 25 aces (4th GPAC), 1.9 digs
Josie Blankespoor: 1.5 kills/game, .382 hit %, 43 blocks
Karsyn Winterfeld: 49 aces (1st GPAC, NAIA), 2.8 digs