No.9 Northwestern College came up short in its upset bid, falling in five sets to No.5 Dordt in a GPAC match-up between top 10 teams played tonight at the Bultman Center. Individual game scores were 26-28, 18-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-12.
The Red Raiders drop to 12-3 in conference play, 21-6 overall, with one match left in the regular season. Dordt remains unbeaten in GPAC play, improving to 15-0 and 22-2 overall.
Lauryn Hilger posted a career-high 25 kills and hit .305 in the five-set thriller, one of four Red Raiders that recorded double figure kills.
Emily Van Ginkel hit for double figures for the third straight match, flooring 12 kills and three blocks.
Bekah Horstman hit 71% and put down a career-best 12 kills and
Makenzie Fink added 10.
Northwestern setter
Lacey Wacker lofted up 56 assists and directed an offense that hit 24% over the five set match.
Emily Strasser led the backrow play with 18 digs, one of three Red Raiders in double figures. Hilger (12) and
Allison Koehlmoos (10) were also in double figures.
Set One...
Tied early, Dordt used a 6-2 run to pull ahead 9-5 after consecutive ace serves by Ema Altena. The Defenders continued to hold a 2-4 point lead until a 5-0 run pushed the visitors lead to seven (20-13) behind the serving of Jamie De Jager. A successful attack by Fink sparked a 4-0 run to get Northwestern within three (20-17) and the Red Raiders battled all the way back to tie the set at 23 following a Defenders error. Dordt came back with a point and twice served for the set only to have the Red Raiders come back to tie it. A kill by Hilger broke a 26-26 tie and a hitting error by Dordt put Northwestern on top 28-26.
Set Two...
Northwestern broke an 8-8 tie with a 6-1 run, using the serving of
Ann Pater and getting three kills from Hilger, to go up 14-9. Dordt stormed back and following a kill by Jessi De Jager, cut the Red Raider lead to one, 17-16. Northwestern, however, scored the next five points and then traded points thereafter to win 25-18.
Set Three...
Both teams hit for a high percentage in a third set that featured short rallies with powerful kills and seven ties between the teams. Tied for the final time at 18-18, Dordt scored two straight points, the final on a successful attack by Leah Kamp, to go for good 20-18. Northwestern made it a one point game four separate times down the stretch but was unable to tie the set as Dordt forced a fourth set, 25-23.
Set Four...
The teams traded points early until a 4-0 Northwestern run put the hosts up 10-7 following an ace from Fink. Dordt rallied and went ahead 11-10 and the teams traded points again until the score was knotted at 14. A successful attack by Julia Lindbergh put the Defenders up for good (15-14) as they outscored Northwestern 11-4 to force a final set, 25-18.
Set Five...
Three straight aces by Altena put Dordt in front 5-2 and forced Northwestern to use an early timeout. Down 9-5 and out of timeouts, Northwestern rallied, outscoring the Defenders 5-1 and tied the set at 10 after a kill by Van Ginkel. Dordt scored the next three points, however, to take the lead once and for all, winning the match on a kill by Altena.
By the Numbers...
Northwestern hit 24% compared to Dordt's 20%
Dordt had the edge in blocking (10-9) and a substantial advantage in ace serves (10-3)
Hilger totaled 20+ kills for the sixth time; this was her 13th double-double of the season
Van Ginkel has hit for double figures in five matches;
Horstman has hit for double figures in three matches
Fink has now hit for double figures in 10 matches
Strasser has 19 matches with 10+ digs
Altena led Dordt with 18 kills; both Jessi De Jager and Julia Lindbergh added 12
