Game Time... Second-ranked Northwestern plays host to Briar Cliff in a GPAC match-up Wednesday night at the Bultman Center. First serve is scheduled for 7:30pm. Northwestern is 7-0 in the GPAC, 19-0 overall, and has not played a match since defeating Mount Marty seven days ago in Yankton, S.D. Briar Cliff is tied for eighth in conference play with a 3-5 record, 13-9 overall. 

Follow the match live, via the NWC webcast, at the following link: Watch Now!

All-Time...The Red Raiders are 60-10 all-time against Briar Cliff, dating back to the 1989 season. Northwestern has won 11 straight matches against BCU, including a 3-0 win (25-22, 25-18, 25-21) earlier this season in Sioux City. 

Earlier This Season...Anna Wedel hit for a match-high 12 kills and Makenzie Fink added 11 in leading No.2 Northwestern to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-21) sweep over Briar Cliff in a GPAC match-up played Sept. 18 in Sioux City. 

The Red Raiders hit nearly .400 over the final two sets, .247 for the match, and held a 5-2 advantage in blocks. Fink hit 58%, totaling 11 kills in 19 attempts with no errors. Wedel hit 35% over the three sets and Emily Van Ginkel put down six kills in 12 attempts, hitting 42%. 

Lacey Wacker put up 33 assists and Emily Strasser led the backrow play with 16 digs. 

Briar Cliff was led by Noel Phillips with 10 kills, the lone Chargers player in double figures. 

Scouting Reports...

    (RV) Briar Cliff Chargers:  3-5 (T8th GPAC), 13-9        Head Coach: Lindsey Weatherford (1st year)

The Chargers have lost two straight, six of its last eight, and is tied with College of Saint Mary for eighth place in the current GPAC standings with a 3-5 record. They are 13-9 overall and earned votes in the latest NAIA Coaches' poll. Earlier this season, Briar Cliff had an eight match win streak. Last week, Briar Cliff lost to Dordt and Dakota Wesleyan in GPAC play.

Weatherford is in her first season as the Chargers head coach, coming to BCU after being the assistant at Luther for a couple of years. Weatherford also has coaching stops at Kirkwood Community College and Waldorf. She inherited a BCU team that returns nine players from a 2018 team that finished in a four-way tie for seventh place with a 5-11 record, 11-16 overall. The Chargers were picked 11th of 12 teams in the GPAC preseason poll. 

    By The Numbers...GPAC / NAIA Rank (if top 10)
    12.2 kills/set            11th
    .199 hit %                10th
    10 aces                   7th
    14.5 digs/set           8th
    2.5 blocks/set         3rd / 7th

    Individual Leaders:
    Victoria Gonzalez - 2.7 kills/set, .239%, 25 aces (7th), 2.2 digs/set, 27 blocks
    Noel Phillips - 2 kills/set, .219%, 30 blocks
    Grace Whitlaw (All-Conf) - 1.5 kills/set, .184%, 1.3 blocks/set (2nd / 3rd)
    Tyra Blue - 1.8 kills/set, .9 blocks/set
    Delaney Meyer (2x All-Conf.)  5.3 assists/set, 18 aces, 2.4 digs/set
    Grace Hanno - 3.4 digs/set

#2 Northwestern Red Raiders: 7-0 (1st GPAC), 19-0      Head Coach: Kyle Van Den Bosch (15th year)

The Raiders swept Mount Marty in their only match played last week, defeating the Lancers 25-22, 25-5 and 25-16. Northwestern is currently in first place in the GPAC with a 7-0 record, holding a one game lead over Jamestown at the near mid-point of the conference season. The Red Raiders are the only unbeaten team left in the NAIA (19-0), their longest win streak since the 2013 season. 

Two Red Raiders, Makenzie Fink and Lacey Wacker, were recently named both the NAIA and GPAC Attacker and Setter of the Week, respectively.

    By The Numbers...GPAC / NAIA Rank (if top 10)
    14.2 kills/set            1st / 3rd
    .314 hit %                1st / 1st
    125 aces                 1st
    13.9 digs/set           11th
    2.1 blocks/set          9th

    Individual Leaders:
    Anna Wedel - 3.9 kills/set (3rd), .318 (7th), 2.6 digs/set, 26 blocks
    Makenzie Fink - 3.0 kills/set (7th), .337 (4th), 22 aces (9th), 38 blocks
    Bekah Horstman - 2.1 kills/set, .400%, 72 blocks (5th)
    Lacey Wacker - 11.9 assists/set (1st/1st), 30 aces (1st)
    Emily Strasser - 23 aces (6th), 4.2 digs/set (7th)