Game Time...No.1 Northwestern College makes its final road trip of the regular season when they head to both Doane and Hastings this weekend, Nov. 1-2. The Red Raiders will play Doane on Friday night, beginning at 7:30pm, followed by a Saturday matinee against Hastings beginning at 3pm. 

    Follow the matches at these links: 

        Doane Video | Doane Live Stats | Hastings Video | Hastings Live Stats

All-Time..Northwestern leads the all-time series against Doane, 37-20, dating back to the 1991 season. The Red Raiders are 8-2 in the last 10 matches against Doane, including a pair of 3-0 wins last season. 

        Last 6 vs Doane:
        2018: 2-0 (3-0, 3-0)
        2017: 1-0 (3-1)
        2016: 1-2 (3-0 loss, 3-1 win, 3-1 loss)

    Since 1991, Northwestern holds a slim 31-30 lead in the rivalry against Hastings. The Red Raiders won both matches last year, are 3-2 over the last five and 5-5 in their last 10 against the Broncos: 

    Last 5 vs Hastings:
    2018: 2-0 (3-1, 3-1)
    2017: 1-1 (3-2 win, 3-1 loss)
    2016: 0-1 (3-0 loss)

Scouting Reports...

    Doane University: 7-6 (6th), 16-10 overall        Head Coach: Gwen Egbert (7th year)

The Tigers have won four of their last five and are playing some of their best volleyball of the season heading into Friday night's match against Northwestern. Recent wins over College of Saint Mary, Hastings, Mount Marty and Dakota Wesleyan have put the Tigers currently in sixth place in the GPAC at 7-6, one game in back of both both Dordt and Midland, with three left to play in the regular season. They are 16-10 overall and lost to only 8th-ranked Jamestown in the last two-plus weeks.

Hired in the spring of 2013, Egbert has been the head of the Doane program for the last seven years. Egbert spent several years at both Papillion LaVista and LaVista South, building both programs up to annual contenders for the state title. She returns six starters and nine players from a 2018 Doane team that finished in a four-way tie for seventh place in the GPAC at 5-11, 13-17 overall. They lost to Northwestern in the GPAC Quarterfinals and were picked seventh in the conference preseason poll. 

    2019 Team Stats:
    13 kills/set (7th)
    .205 hitting % (8th)
    158 aces (2nd)
    172 blocks (10th)
    16.7 digs/set (4th)

    2019 Individual Leaders:
    Allison Kuenle (2x All-Conference) 3.9 kills/set (3rd), .244%, 3 digs/set, 54 blocks
    Madison Van Housen (All-Conference) 2.8 kills/set, .188%, 1.3 digs/set, 40 blocks
    Alexis Dale (2x All-Conference)  2.3 kills/set, .292% (9th), 68 blocks
    Jaime Renshaw - 9.6 assists/set (4th), 16 aces, 2.8 digs/set
    Kennedy Scheele - 30 aces (T8th), 4.2 digs/set (8th)

    Hastings College: 4-9 (T9th), 9-14 overall        Head Coach: Alexandra Allard (1st year)

The Broncos have dropped two straight and six of their last seven matches to fall back into a tie for ninth place in the current GPAC standings with a 4-9 record. They are tied with Dakota Wesleyan, one game in back of College of Saint Mary for the eighth and final spot in the upcoming conference tournament. Hastings has lost to Dakota Wesleyan and 8th-ranked Jamestown since earning a 3-0 win over Briar Cliff. They also have losses to Doane, Morningside, Midland and College of Saint Mary.

Allard is in her first season as the Broncos head coach, taking over the program from Matt Buttermore, who resigned last winter to become the head coach at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Allard has been both an AAU Coach and assistant coach at Incarnate Word College in Texas prior to coming to Hastings. She inherits six starters and 10 players from a 2018 team that tied for second in the GPAC at 13-3, 22-7 overall. They were picked fourth in the preseason poll.

    2019 Team Stats:
    12.2 kills/set (10th)
    .217 hitting % (5th)
    96 aces (11th)
    190 blocks (7th)
    14.4 digs/set (8th)

    2019 Individual Leaders:
    Lucy Skoch (2x All-Conference) 2.3 kills/set, .228%, 73 blocks
    Danielle Bruha - 2.3 kills/set, .247%, 48 blocks
    Emily Krolikowski -  2.3 kills/set, .207%, 26 blocks
    Clara Thede - 5.1 assists/set, 23 aces, 2 digs/set
    Jaisee Stinson - 4.1 assists/set, 9 aces, 1.4 digs/set
    Casey Sutherland - 2.8 digs/set

#1 Northwestern Red Raiders: 13-0 (GPAC), 25-0 overall        Head Coach: Kyle Van Den Bosch (15th year)

With three matches left in the regular season, Northwestern holds a two-match lead over Jamestown and three match lead over Concordia in the race for the GPAC regular season title. The Red Raiders are 13-0 in conference play and hold the tie break against Jamestown but will close the season at home against Concordia in a head-to-head battle. Northwestern is the lone unbeaten team left in the NAIA at 25-0, holding the No.1 spot in last week's coaches' poll. Most recently, they have gone 5-0 against ranked teams, Dordt, Midland, Jamestown, College of Saint Mary and Midland.

    2019 Team Stats:
    14.1 kills/set (1st / 3rd)
    .309 hitting % (1st / 1st)
    148 aces (3rd)
    206.5 blocks (5th)
    14.3 digs/set (11th)

    2019 Individual Leaders:
    Anna Wedel - 4.1 kills/set (2nd), .335 (4th), 2.6 digs/set, 38 blocks
    Makenzie Fink - 3.1 kills/set (6th), .320 (6th), 25 aces, 58 blocks
    A.J. Kacmarynski - 2.6 kills/set. .233%, 22 aces, 35 blocks
    Bekah Horstman - 2.1 kills/set, .410%, 99 blocks (5th)
    Emily Van Ginkel - 1.6 kills/set, .276%, 93 blocks (10th)
    Lacey Wacker - 11.9 assists/set (1st / 1st), 32 aces (3rd), 2 digs/set
    Emily Strasser - 27 aces (9th), 4.3 digs/set (7th)