Game Time... Seventh-ranked Northwestern continues its 2018 season with three matches at the GoSarpy.Com Invite, a two-day Classic hosted by Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb. The Red Raiders open the Classic with a Thursday evening match-up against Hope International (Calif.) and will then play a pair of matches on Friday; University of Providence (Mont.) at 3pm and (RV) Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) at 7pm.

Live stats are available, via Bellevue University, at this link: Live Stats! 

All-Time...Northwestern is 1-1 all-time against the University of Providence, formerly named Great Falls, losing in straight sets in 2016 at the Biola Summer Fest and defeating the Argos in a five-set thriller in 2013 at a tournament in Bellevue. This will be the first ever match-up against both Hope International and Rocky Mountain.

Scouting Reports...

    Hope International Royals: 3-5        Head Coach-Jessica Walker (7th year)

    The Royals won their first two games of the season over Warner Pacific (Ore.) and Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) but are 1-5 since to come into the tournament with a 3-5 record. They lost to two ranked teams, Rocky Mountain and College of Idaho, and also defeated Marymount of California. 

    Walker returns three starters and seven players from 2017 team that posted its first winning season since the 2003 season with a 17-10 overall record, going 8-6 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Walker was named the GSAC co-coach of the year.

    By the Numbers...
        Kills/Game: 11.7
        Hitting %: .157
        Aces: 40
        Digs/Set: 15.5
        Blocks/Set: 1.95

     Top Players:
        Brooke Beresford-3.3 kills/set, .132%, 1.6 digs/set
        Camryn Rowell-2.6 kills/set, 1.9 digs/set
        Emree Sato-5.1 assistst/set, 4 aces
        Hallie Sullivan-18 blocks
        Natalie Hadder-4.1 digs/ set
    
    University of Providence Argos: 3-1            Head Coach: Arunas Duda (15th year)

    Formerly knows as the University of Great Falls, the Argos have won three straight matches since dropping a five-set thriller to Northwest (Wash.) in their season opener. They have wins over Eastern Oregon, Evergreen and Multnomah, winning nine of the 11 sets played.

    Duda, in his 15th season as head coach, returns four starters and seven players from a 2017 team that finished fourth in the Frontier Conference with a 6-6 record, 20-11 overall. They lost both setters and their top blocker from the 2017 season and are picked to finish fourth of seven teams in the preseason poll.

     By the Numbers...
        Kills/Game: 13.8
        Hitting %: .254
        Aces: 22
        Digs/Set: 16.5
        Blocks/Set: 2.0

     Top Players:
        Sydney Anderson (2nd team All-American) 3.7 kills/set, .364%, 1.4 digs/set
        Kelsey Shaver  3.6 kills/set, .230%, 3.1 digs/set, 12 blocks
        Ember Schwindt 1.9 kill/set, .387%, 19 blocks
        Paige Jensen  10.5 assists/set
        Averi Dyer  2 aces, 4.7 digs/set

    (RV) Rocky Mountain Battlin' Bears:  7-1         Head Coach: Laurie Kelly (8th year)

Rocky Mountain have won six consecutive matches since losing to College of Idaho in the second match of the season on Aug. 15. They have wins over a ranked Westmont (Calif.) team along with wins over Olivet Nazarene, Hope International, Dickinson State, Multnomah, Eastern Oregon and Northwest. 

Six starters are back from a 2017 team that finished second in the Frontier Conference with a 9-3 record, 23-11 overall. Coach Kelly's squad was picked second in the Frontier preseason coaches' poll. 

 By the Numbers...
        Kills/Game: 12.7
        Hitting %: .253
        Aces: 50
        Digs/Set: 19.8 (7th in NAIA)
        Blocks/Set: 2.5 (4th in NAIA)

     Top Players:
        Hailey Copinga (All-American)  2.7 kills/set, .286%, 3.2 digs/set, 34 blocks (4th in NAIA)
        Daniella Russell  2.6 kills/set, .252%, 1.2 digs/set
        Olivia L'Ami  2.4 kills/set, 11 blocks
        Miranda Gallagher  2.3 kills/set, 23 blocks, 15 aces
        Natalie Hilderman (Freshman of the Year)  9.8 assists/set, 10 aces

Northwestern Notes...Ranked seventh in the preseason coaches' poll, Northwestern is off to a 5-1 start to the 2018 season, playing all six matches at home in the Bultman Center. They are 1-1 against ranked teams, defeating #19 Corban in four sets on August 23 and losing to #9 Grand View 3-1 on August 25. They also have wins over Waldorf, John Brown and Presentation.

Kyle Van Den Bosch is in his 14th season as the Red Raiders head coach, owning a 376-110 record  and winning nearly 80% of matches played. He has guided Red Raider teams to eight 30+ win seasons and eight NAIA National Tournaments, including the 2017 season that concluded with a 30-6 record. 

    By the Numbers...
        Kills/Game: 14.5 (6th in NAIA)
        Hitting %: .301 (9th in NAIA)
        Aces: 44
        Digs/Set: 13.6
        Blocks/Set: 1.5

     Top Players:
        Lauryn Hilger-4.4 kills/set (11th in NAIA), 12 aces, 2.4 digs/set; hit for double figures in five matches this season
        A.J. Horstman-3.5 kills/set, 5 aces, 1.2 digs/set
        Anna Kiel-2.9 kills/set, .360%, 1.6 digs/set, 10 blocks
        Lacey Wacker-11.9 assists/set (4th in NAIA), 2.6 digs/set
        Emily Strasser-6 aces, 3 digs/set
        Bekah Horstman-1.2 kills/set, .275%, 14 blocks