No.9 Northwestern lost to No.5 Dordt 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-21) in the GPAC Championship match played tonight in Sioux Center, Iowa.

The Red Raiders are now 24-7 and will advance to play in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship, beginning Nov. 27 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. 

Emily Van Ginkel hit. 381 and put down nine kills in the three sets against the Defenders. Lauryn shared team-high honors with Van Ginkel, flooring nine kills in 31 attempts. Bekah Horstman added six kills and four blocks. 

First Set: Dordt  25        Northwestern  19

A kill by Makenzie Fink to start the match was followed by five straight Dordt points to force a Red Raider timeout. Kills by Hilger and Horstman followed by an attack error against Dordt tied the set brought Northwestern back and tied the set at nine. Tied again at 10, Dordt went ahead for good with an 8-2 run as the hosts went on to win the first set 25-19. 

Dordt hit a match-best .289 in the first set compared to 9% by the Red Raiders.

Second Set:  Dordt  25        Northwestern  18

Dordt broke a 4-4 tie with seven straight points, served by Jamie De Jager, and led the rest of the way for a 25-18 win in set two. Northwestern got as close as four (19-15) on back-to-back aces by Hilger to force a Defenders timeout. The hosts closed the set with a 6-3 run, however, for a 2-0 sets lead.

Third Set:  Dordt  25        Northwestern  21

Following an early 6-3 Dordt lead, Northwestern came back with three straight points, finished off with a kill by Horstman, for a 6-6 tie. The teams would trade points over the next while as the score was tied six times thereafter, the final coming at 18. A kill by Ally Krommendyk put Dordt up for good, although the Red Raiders did cut the lead to one (21-20) after a successful attack from Hilger. Dordt scored four of the final five points to win the match.

By the Numbers...

Northwestern hit 13% for the match; Dordt 24%

The Red Raiders totaled five blocks and three aces; Dordt had nine blocks and seven aces

Lacey Wacker put up 29 assists; Emily Strasser led the backrow with 12 digs

Dordt was led by both Leah Kamp and Ema Altena with nine kills each; De Jager totaled 35 assists and two ace serves