No.2 Northwestern College outlasted 22nd-ranked Dordt in a thrilling five set match-up that will go down as yet another classic in the storied rivalry between the two programs. Individual scores were 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 37-39 and 15-11.

The Red Raiders improve to 9-0 in the GPAC, 21-0 overall; Dordt had its five match win streak snapped and drops to 6-4 in the GPAC, 15-7 overall. 

Anna Wedel put down a career-high 32 kills, breaking the program record for most kills in a match (rally scoring), and totaled 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. The junior eclipsed the previous mark (30) set two different times, most recently by her teammate, A.J. Kacmarynski in 2016 against Dakota Wesleyan. Wedel hit .481 for the match and posted double figures for the team-leading 19th time this season. Makenzie Fink hammered down a season-best 20 kills and also totaled a season-high 10 digs for her first double-double. Bekah Horstman added a career-best 15 kills, hitting .500 for the match, to go with 3.5 blocks. 

The teams thrilled the crowd with another classic match-up, including an epic fourth set where they combined for 76 points, breaking the GPAC record for the highest scoring set. 

Northwestern used a 4-0 run, from consecutive kills by Horstman and Kacmarynski followed by errors by the Defenders, to break a 13-13 tie in its 25-19 first set win. After Dordt pulled to within one (17-16), the Red Raiders scored the next five points on three attacks by Wedel and one by Horstman to finish off visitors. 

Coach Van Den Bosch's squad led from start to finish in taking set two, 25-21. A 7-2 run put the Red Raiders up by as many as seven (17-10) and Fink closed out the set with a smash from the middle for a 2-0 lead. Northwestern outhit the Defenders in each of the first two sets.

Set three belonged to the Defenders as they opened up an early 10-2 advantage behind the serving of Megan Raszler and net play by Corrina Timmermans, who put down three kills during the fast start. Forced to use both timeouts early, Northwestern slowly mounted a comeback, cutting the lead down to two during the final stages, until Ally Krommendyk put down one of her 17 kills to give the Defenders the set, 25-22. Dordt had its highest hitting percentage (.325) of the match, compared to Northwestern's .244 in set three.

Then, the fourth set...a set that featured 26 ties, 12 lead changes; Northwestern had eight match points, Dordt served for the set seven times, only to come through the final time when Krommendyk put away a Raszler set to force a game five. The Red Raiders held the largest lead of set four (12-9) after a kill from Wedel. The Defenders came all the way back, taking the lead late (22-20) until Fink scored on three attacks to again tie the set at 23. 14 more ties followed as the teams traded points and delighted the fans with high-level volleyball. 

Dordt scored the first two points of the final set on kills from Timmermans and Karsyn Winterfeld, who led the Defenders with 18 kills. Wedel followed with a kill and began a Northwestern rally as the hosts led by two (7-5). The Defenders came back, tied the set at seven and later at 10, but a kill from Kacmarynski off an assist by Lacey Wacker put Northwestern up for good. The Red Raiders closed with a 5-1 run to take the final set 15-11.

Northwestern hit .292 for the match, totaled 13 blocks and four aces; Dordt hit .217, totaled 12 blocks and four aces. Wacker lofted up a career high 70 assists while Emily Strasser (20 digs) and Ann Pater (13 digs-career high) led the Red Raiders backrow play. Kacmarynski (3.5), Horstman (3) and Van Ginkel (2.5) led the blocking efforts for Van Den Bosch's squad.

Raszler put up 63 assists and nine digs; Timmermans (14 kills) and Jessi De Jager (12 kills) were also in double figures for Dordt.