Game Time...A stretch of four consecutive home matches begins Monday night as the Northwestern hosts Briar Cliff in GPAC volleyball. First serve is scheduled for 7:30pm. Northwestern is coming off a 2-1 week and brings a 4-1 conference record into Monday. They are 6-1 overall. Briar Cliff has won two straight matches and is 1-7 in conference play, 6-9 overall.

    Follow the match live at these link: Live Stats | Watch | Listen

All-Time...Northwestern is 62-10 all-time against Briar Cliff, dating back to the 1989 season, including a 3-1 victory in Sioux City just five days ago.

Last Time vs Briar Cliff...Northwestern earned a four-set win against Briar Cliff, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21,25-21 in a match played Oct. 7 in Sioux City. Anna Wedel led Northwestern with 15 kills, one of three players with double figure kills for Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch's squad. Makenzie Fink hit a match-best .407 and totaled 13 kills to go with a season-high four ace serves. Emily Van Ginkel put away 11 kills out of a season-high 29 attacks and recorded three blocks. 

Northwestern hit .191 compared to .222 by BCU; both teams served five aces. Lacey Reitz lofted up 42 assists and Emily Strasser led the backrow with 18 digs. 

    Complete Recap | 

Scouting Reports...

    Briar Cliff Chargers: 1-7 (11th GPAC), 6-9 overall        Head Coach: Lindsey Weatherford (2nd year)

The Chargers have won two straight matches since their loss to Northwestern, defeating York (3-0) and Doane (3-1), both on the road. They are currently 11th in the GPAC with a 1-7 record, 6-9 overall.

Weatherford is in her second season with the Chargers program, taking over prior to the 2019 season. She has served as an assistant coach at Luther (Iowa), Kirkwood Community College and Waldorf. Weatherford returns three starters and five players from a 2019 team that finished 11th in the GPAC at 3-13, 13-18 overall. They were picked to finish 11th in the preseason poll.

    By The Numbers (GPAC rank)
    Hitting Percentage - .190 (8th)
    Kills / Set - 11.6 (11th)
    Aces / Set - 1.4 (5th)
    Digs / Set - 15.6 (10th)
    Blocks / Set - 2.2 (4th)

    Top Players (GPAC rank)
    Grace Hanno - 3.0 kills / set (10th), .177%, 3.8 digs/set
    Chloe Johnson - 2.1 kills /set, .265%, 1.3 digs/set
    Toria Andre - 1.6 kills/set, .209%, 48 blocks
    Madilyn Wagaman - 4.7 assists / set, 12 aces
    Maureen Imrie - 4.3 assists / set
    Tannah Heath - 17 aces, 3.6 digs/set

Northwestern College Raiders: 4-1 (3rd GPAC), 6-1 overall        Head Coach: Kyle Van Den Bosch (16th year)

The Raiders defeated previously unbeaten Concordia 3-1 last weekend, earning their second straight win. Northwestern is alone in third place in the GPAC with a 4-1 record, 6-1 overall. They are 18-6 in sets played this season. 

Northwestern, the defending GPAC regular season champion, was picked first in the 2020 preseason coaches poll.

    By The Numbers (GPAC rank)
    Hitting Percentage - .264 (1st)
    Kills / Set - 14 (2nd)
    Aces / Set - 1.1 (8th)
    Digs / Set - 17 (5th)
    Blocks / Set - 2.1 (5th)

    Top Players (GPAC rank)
    Anna Wedel - 4.4 kills/set (1st, 8th), .303% (6th), 3.1 digs/set
    Makenzie Fink - 2.6 kills/set, .305% (4th), 14 blocks
    Emily Van Ginkel - 2.6 kills/set, .253%, 1.1 blocks/set (10th)
    Lacey Reitz - 11.6 assists/set (1st/1st), 4 aces, 2.7 digs/set
    Emily Strasser - 4.4 digs/set (8th), 95% serve receive