Bekah Horstman and Emily Van Ginkel matched their career high in kills while leading 16th-ranked Northwestern to a 3-0 sweep (25-16, 26-24, 25-22) over Briar Cliff Tuesday night at the Newman Flanagan Center in Sioux City, Iowa. 

Northwestern improves to 1-0 in conference play, 7-3 overall. Briar Cliff drops to 3-2 on the year, 0-1 in the GPAC. 

Horstman and Van Ginkel put down 11 and 10 kills, respectively, for the second consecutive match while leading the Red Raiders in hitting percentage against the Chargers. Horstman totaled 11 kills and hit .625 (11 - 1 -16) while Van Ginkel hit .286 and accounted for a team-high five blocks. Lacey Wacker lofted up 35 assists and directed a Red Raider offense that hit .228 over the three sets. 

Set One...

Northwestern hit a match-best .355 and led from start to finish in earning a 25-16 win. All five Red Raider hitters at least two kills, led by Horstman who put down four in the first set. 

Set Two...

The Red Raiders fell behind early and trailed by as many as five (11-6, 13-8) before rallying to get within one (17-16). Briar Cliff pushed it lead back to three late (22-19) but Northwestern rallied with a string for four consecutive points, led by Van Ginkel who accounted for a pair of kills and a block. Tied at 24, Northwestern scored the final two points for a 26-24 come-from-behind win. The Red Raiders hit 24% compared to 25% by the Chargers, the only set the Van Den Bosch's squad was outhit.

Set Three...

Tied at six, Briar Cliff began a 10-4 run to pull ahead 16-10. Northwestern responded with a 7-1 run and tied the set at 17 following a kill by Lauryn Hilger. Still knotted at 20, Northwestern closed the match with a 5-2 run to win its GPAC opener. 

Hilger was also in double figures wth 10 kills and matched Emily Strasser for team-high honors with nine digs. Northwestern had a 10-7 advantage in blocks.