A pair of top-rated teams met for the GPAC postseason championship Saturday afternoon in Jamestown, N.D. and No.5 Northwestern fell short to the top-ranked Jimmies 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-21). The Raiders move ahead to the NAIA National Championship - Opening Round with a 19-4 record. 

Playing in its ninth conference title game under Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch and 10th overall, Northwestern is now 3-7 in the championship match. Jamestown wins its second consecutive and overall GPAC postseason title.

Northwestern faced an uphill battle in each of the three sets as they fell behind early to the host Jimmies. 

Makenzie Fink led the Raiders with nine kills, hitting .280 on the rightside pin. Anna Wedel contributed eight kills, A.J. Kacmarynski seven and Emily Van Ginkel totaled six and hit .316 for the match. Lacey Reitz put up 29 assists and 15 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Olivia Granstra totaled a career-best 17 digs to lead the Raiders backrow.

Jamestown had the advantage at the net, hitting .232 compared to .147 by the Raiders. Both teams totaled six blocks while Northwestern had the edge in aces 5-2. 

Anna Holen led the Jimmies with 11 kills and 23 digs, joined in double figures by Kallie Hegerle with 10. Sydney Ellingson anchored the defense with 19 digs. 

    Set One: 25-21 loss
Northwestern fell behind 4-1 in the first before rallying to within one (10-9) after a hitting error by Jamestown. The hosts scored three of the next four points, however, and Northwestern did not get closer than two the rest of the way. 

    Set Two: 25-22 loss
Tied at nine, Jamestown pulled ahead for good with a 4-0 run on kills from Taylor Sabinash and Nicole Schmitz. A successful attack by Wedel and an ace from Jadeyn Schutt brought Northwestern within one (16-15) but the Jimmies scored the next three points and led by at least three for the duration of set two.

    Set Three: 25-21 loss
Northwestern held its only lead during the first half of the final set and still led 17-16 even after a Jamestown 6-1 run. Tied at 18, Corina Huff and Hegerle put Jamestown up for good with consecutive kills as the hosts outscored Northwestern 7-3 to finish off the match.