Game Time...Ranked teams pair up when #2 Northwestern travels to Sioux Center to play #19 Dordt on Wednesday night, Sept. 11. First serve at the DeWitt Gym is scheduled for 7:30pm. Northwestern is unbeaten, owning a 1-0 league record, 12-0 overall, while the Defenders are 0-1 in the GPAC, 8-4 overall. 

    Follow the game live, via these links:  Stats | Audio | Video

All-Time...Northwestern holds a slim 44-42 lead in the all-time series (dating back to 1989)...Dordt had had the upper hand of late, winning four of the last five matches, including all three last season. 

        2018:
            @ Dordt: 3-1 loss (25-15, 13-25, 20-25, 19-25)
            Dordt: 3-2 loss (28-26, 25-18, 23-25, 18-25, 15-12)
            @ Dordt (GPAC Final): 3-0 loss (18-25, 19-25, 21-25)

Scouting Reports...

    #19 Dordt University: 0-1 (GPAC), 8-4 overall        Head Coach: Chad Hanson (9th year)

The Defenders went 2-1 last weekend at a tournament hosted by top-ranked Park University, defeating both Benedictine and Huston-Tillotson and falling to the #1 Pirates in four sets. Dordt is 8-4 overall, 0-1 in the GPAC, losing to Jamestown 3-1 in their lone conference match on Sept. 3. The Defenders are 3-4 against ranked teams. 

Now in his ninth season as the Defenders head coach, Hanson returns four starters and six players from a 2018 team that won the GPAC regular and postseason titles, going 16-0. They lost to national runner-up Columbia (Mo.) in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Championship and finished 31-3 on the year. Hanson is a two-time GPAC Coach of the Year and served as an assistant coach at the University of Georgia for three years prior to coming to Dordt. 

By the Numbers:
Kills / Set - 14.04 (4th GPAC, 6th in NAIA)
Hitting % - .242 (5th, 8th)
Aces - 66 (9th)
Blocks - 105.5 (6th)
Digs - 15.2 (7th)

Individual Leaders:
Corrina Timmermans - 2.7 kills/set, .248%, 18 blocks
Jessi De Jager - 2.4 kills/set, .370%, 37 blocks
Ally Krommendyk - 2.4 kills/set, .362%, 55 blocks (6th)
Karsyn Winterfeld - 2.4 kills/set, .145%, 18 aces (10th), 2.5 digs/set
Megan Raszler - 6.7 assists/set, 8 aces, 1.5 digs/set
Hannah Connelly - 7 aces, 4.5 digs/set (6th)

    #2 Northwestern - 1-0 (GPAC), 12-0            Head Coach: Kyle Van Den Bosch (15th year)

The Red Raiders went 4-0 at the Viterbo Holiday Inn Express Classic last weekend, defeating William Woods, Waldorf, Taylor and #5 Viterbo, going 12-2 in sets played. They improved to 12-0 on the year, 3-0 against ranked teams and 1-0 in the conference. 

By the Numbers:
Kills / Set - 14 (4th GPAC, 7th in NAIA)
Hitting % - .300 (1st, 1st)
Aces - 89 (2nd)
Blocks - 90 (8th)
Digs - 14 (10th)

Individual Leaders:
Anna Wedel - 3.8 kills/set (4th), .293% (10th), 2.4 digs/set, 15 blocks
Makenzie Fink - 2.9 kills/set, .309% (8th), 11 aces, 28 blocks
A.J. Kacmarynski - 2.7 kills/set, .241%, 13 aces, 14 blocks
Bekah Horstman - 2.2 kills/set, .402%, 42 blocks (10th)
Emily Van Ginkel - 1.7 kills/set, .302%, 40 blocks
Lacey Wacker - 11.8 assists/set (2nd/2nd), 18 aces (6th), 2 digs/set
Emily Strasser - 22 aces (1st), 4.2 digs/set (7th)