Game Time...The Northwestern College volleyball team concludes a busy stretch with a pair of home matches this weekend. The Raiders host Doane on Friday night at 6/7:30pm and will then play Hastings on Saturday afternoon at 3:30/5pm. 

Northwestern has won four straight matches, all in conference play, and is 6-1 in the GPAC, 8-1 overall. Doane has lost five straight matches heading into the weekend and is 1-5 in the GPAC, 3-5 overall. Hastings plays Dordt on Friday night, their first match since Sept. 23; they are 3-1 in the GPAC, 4-2 overall.

    Follow the matches live at these links: Watch / Listen | Live Stats

All-Time... 

    vs Doane - Northwestern holds a 38-20 lead in the rivalry against Doane, dating back to the 1991 season. The Raiders have won four straight, are 8-2 overall, and have not lost at home to Doane since 2011.

    vs Hastings - The Raiders hold a slight 32-30 advantage in the series against Hastings, dating back to 1991. Northwestern has won four of five and six of the last 10 matches. 

Scouting Reports...

    Doane Tigers: 1-5 (10th in GPAC), 3-5 overall            Head Coach: Jenna Jones (1st year)

Doane is currently in 10th place in the GPAC with a 1-5 record, 3-5 overall, and has lost its last five matches. Last time out, they were defeated by Briar Cliff in four sets on Oct.10. The Tigers lone GPAC win came against Mount Marty on Sept. 9. 

Taking over for long-time college and high school coach Gwen Egbert, who retired after last season, Jones is in the midst of her first year as the Tigers head coach. Jones spent three years as an assistant at Nebraska Wesleyan and was an All-American setter for Nebraska-Kearney during her playing career. Jones inherits a team that returns six rotation players, nine overall, from a 2019 team that tied Morningside for sixth place in the GPAC at 8-8, 17-13 overall. Doane graduated their top three hitters from last year, all of which earned all-conference honors.

    By the Numbers (GPAC / NAIA rank)
    Hitting Percentage - .148 (10th)
    Kills / Set - 11.2 (11th)
    Aces / Set - 1.2 (7th)
    Blocks / Set - 1.6 (11th)
    Digs / Set - 15.9 (6th)

    Top Players:
    Kennedy Scheele - 2.5 kills/set, .108%, 12 aces (7th), 2.3 digs/set
    Genna Ryan-Piasecki - 2.4 kills/set, .270%, 28 blocks
    Ryed Creek - 2.2 kills/set, .182%, 15 blocks
    Jaime Renshaw (All-Conference) - 9.3 assists/set
    Katie Ellard - 3.6 digs/set, 8 aces

    Hastings Broncos: 3-1 (4th in GPAC), 4-2 overall        Head Coach: Alexandra Allard (2nd year)

The Broncos have not played since a four-set win against Doane on Sept. 23; they are currently 3-1 in the GPAC, 4-2 overall heading into their match against Dordt on Friday night. Hastings has wins against Valley City State, College of Saint Mary and Midland and losses to Mayville State and Concordia.

Allard is in her second year as head coach, coming to the Broncos in 2019 after serving as an assistant for University of Incarnate Word in Texas. Allard returns six players from their rotation, eight total, from a 2019 team that finished ninth in the GPAC with a 6-10 record, 11-15 overall. They missed out on the conference tournament. Hastings won the national title in 2016 with a 33-3 mark.

    By the Numbers (GPAC / NAIA rank)
    Hitting Percentage - .204 (7th)
    Kills / Set - 12.1 (9th)
    Aces / Set - .9 (12th)
    Blocks / Set - 3.2 (1st / 3rd)
    Digs / Set - 15.8 (7th)

    Top Players (GPAC / NAIA rank)
    Lucy Skoch (2x all-conf) - 3.1 kills/set (10th), 1.4 blocks/set (2nd)
    Emily Krolikowski - 2.6 kills/set, .254%, 11 blocks
    Marlee Taylor - 1.9 kills/set, .211%
    Claira Thede - 4.4 assists/set, 2.1 digs/set
    Ireland Currey - 4.4 digs/set (9th)
    

Northwestern Notes: 6-1 (GPAC), 8-1 overall                Head Coach: Kyle Van Den Bosch (16th year)

The Raiders have won four straight matches, defeating Briar Cliff (2x), Concordia and Dakota Wesleyan since its only loss on Oct. 5. They are third in the GPAC with a 6-1 record, 8-1 overall.

Both Anna Wedel and Makenize Fink rank in hte GPAC's top 10 in kills/set and hitting percentage. Wedel is second in the GPAC, 10th in the NAIA, averaging four kills per set and hitting .282. Fink is fourth in the GPAC in kills (3.1) and second in hitting (.329). Wedel, Fink and A.J. Kacmarynski all have hit for 1,000 kills for their career. 

Lacey Reitz leads the NAIA in assists per set (12.03) and is second all time in assists and assists per game. 

Emily Van Ginkel ranks 10th in the GPAC with 32 blocks and averages 2.5 kills per set.

Emily Strasser is seventh in the GPAC in digs (4.4).