Game Time...15th-ranked Northwestern plays host to both Doane and #13 Hastings for two key conference match-ups this weekend. The Red Raiders will face Doane on Friday night at 7:30pm and will then come back to play the Broncos on Saturday night at 5pm. 

Follow all of the matches live, via the NWC webcast, at the following link: Watch Now!

All-Time...Northwestern leads the all-time series against Doane 35-20, dating back to the 1991 season. The Red Raiders have won seven of the last 10 and three of the last five, including a four-set win played in Crete, Neb. last season.

Northwestern is 29-30 all-time against Hastings, also dating back to the 1991 season. The teams have split the last 10 match-ups and Hastings has a slight advantage (3-2) against the Red Raiders over the last five meetings.

Scouting Reports...

    Doane University: 2-4 (8th), 9-9 overall                      Head Coach: Gwen Egbert - 6th year

The Tigers have lost two straight and four of their last six matches for a 2-4 record in conference play, 9-9 overall. They sit in eighth place in the current GPAC standings nearing the halfway point of the conference slate. After defeating College of Saint Mary and Concordia, Doane dropped a five-set match to Midland and lost to Briar Cliff in four sets last week.

Coach Egbert returns six starters and seven players from 2017 team that finished sixth in the GPAC with a 9-7 record, 17-12 overall, and received votes in the final coaches' poll. They were ranked 18th in the NAIA preseason poll and were picked to finish fifth in the GPAC preseason ranking. Egbert came to Doane in 2013 after an outstanding career as a high school coach in the Omaha area, earning 700 wins during her tenure. 

By the Numbers (Conference Rank / NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Kills/Game: 13.1 (3rd)
        Hitting %: .229% (4th)
        Aces: 104 (3rd)
        Digs/Set: 14.6 (9th)
        Blocks/Set: 1.8 (10th)

     Top Players (Conf / NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Allison Kuenle  (All-American, 1st team all-conf) 4.3 kills/set (3rd/10th), .280%, 20 aces, 2.9 digs/set, 33 blocks
        Madison Van Housen  3.3 kills/set (8th), 14 aces, 29 blocks
        Alexis Dale (All-Conference)  2.4 kills/set, .302% (7th), 43 blocks
        Genna Ryan-Piasecki  1.4 kills/set, .245%, 57 blocks
        Sarah Klobucher  10.6 assists/set, 22 aces, 1.5 digs/set
        Reagan Petersen  4.4 digs/set

    #13 Hastings College: 5-1 (T3rd), 10-3 overall           Head Coach: Matt Buttermore - 7th year

Ranked 13th in the latest NAIA coaches' poll, Hastings is tied with Northwestern for third in the current GPAC standings with a 5-1 record, 10-3 overall. They began the season with five straight wins but are 5-5 over their last 10 matches. Last week, the Broncos picked up two wins, defeating Mount Marty and Concordia, both in four sets.

Coach Buttermore, in his seventh season at Hastings, has earned GPAC Coach of the Year honors the last two years. He guided the Broncos to the NAIA National Championship in 2016 and to both the GPAC regular and postseason title in 2017. He returns four starters and 10 players from last year's team that went 14-2 in the GPAC, 28-3 overall. 

By the Numbers (Conference Rank / NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Kills/Game: 12.2 (10th)
        Hitting %: .196% (9th)
        Aces: 102 (1st)
        Digs/Set: 15.7 (5th)
        Blocks/Set: 2.5 (1st / 10th)

     Top Players (Conf / NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Lucy Skoch (All-Conference)  3.7 kills/set (5th) .295% (9th), 33 blocks
        Sage Meyer (2x All-Conference)  2.2 kills/set, .174%, 15 aces, 2.5 digs/set
        Casey Krolikowski (All-American) 1.6 kills/set
        Emily Lenners  1.3 kills/set, 70 blocks (1st / 4th)
        Clare Hamburger (All-Conference)  5 assists/set, 2.2 digs/ set
        Claire Thede 4.8 assists/set, 1.5 digs/ set

    #15 Northwestern College: 5-1 (T3rd), 14-4 overall    Head Coach: Kyle Van Den Bosch - 14th year

The Red Raiders have won four consecutive matches, all by 3-0 scores, to move into a tie for third place in the current GPAC standings with a 5-1 record, 14-4 overall. They have defeated Jamestown, Mount Marty, Dakota Wesleyan and Concordia during their current win streak. 

    By the Numbers (Conference Rank / NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Kills/Game: 14.3 (1st / 1st)
        Hitting %: .284% (1st / 5th)
        Aces: 118 (2nd)
        Digs/Set: 13.8 (12th)
        Blocks/Set: 1.9 (9th)

     Top Players (Conf / NAIA rank-if top 10)
        Lauryn Hilger  4.6 kills/set (1st / 3rd), .361% (2nd), 31 aces (1st), 2.7 digs/set
            ranks 8th all-time at NW in kills (1,380), 17th in digs (1,071)
        Makenzie Fink  2.5 kills/set, .240%, 21 aces (8th), 1.1 digs/set
        Emily Van Ginkel  1.9 kills/set, .245%, 42 blocks
        Bekah Horstman  1.6 kills/set, .383%, 50 blocks (10th)
        Lacey Wacker   11.9 assists/set (1st /1st), 14 aces, 2.1 digs/set
        Emily Strasser  18 aces, 3.8 digs/set (8th)

Up Next..The Red Raiders begin a three-match road trip on Tuesday night, Oct. 2, at Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa.