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Nike
volleyball-gpac-championship-recap-insidestory-111123
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Concordia (NE) CUNE 23-3, 14-2 GPAC
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Winner Northwestern NWC 26-2, 14-2 GPAC
Concordia (NE) CUNE
23-3, 14-2 GPAC
2
Final
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Northwestern NWC
26-2, 14-2 GPAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Concordia (NE) CUNE 17 25 25 21 11 (2)
Northwestern NWC 25 17 23 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | NWC Athletic Communications

Red Raiders Lay Claim to the 2023 GPAC Tournament Title

First GPAC tournament title since 2014 and fourth under Van Den Bosch

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The conference job is finished. The top-ranked Northwestern College volleyball team (26-2, 14-2) first laid claim to a share of the regular season title, earned the top-seed in conference tournament, and completed the quest for a league tournament title with a thrilling five-set match against No. 4-ranked Concordia University (Neb.) (23-3, 14-2 GPAC) inside a packed and rowdy Bultman Center Saturday night.  
"This was quite a win for our team! The level of play from both teams was so high," commented head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch! "The defense that both teams played made for some unbelievable volleyball! I thought each of our players did their role well. Thanks, also, to Raider Nation for an amazing home environment!"
 
The match proved to be a highly competitive match between two of the best volleyball teams the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has to offer this season in the second top-5 clash between the two squads inside the Bultman Center this season.  
The first set started like any other, the two teams getting in the zone early. Concordia would score a point and Northwestern would take two-straight, eventually leading to a 10-5 Red Raider advantage and a Bulldog time out. Concordia would respond with five of the next six points to pull within one at 11-10, NWC. A 7-3 Red Raider run would force the Bulldogs to use their second time out, as Northwestern held the 21-15 advantage. A pair of massive blocks from Zavyr Metzger (So., Larchwood, Iowa) and Emma Westphal (So., Hull, Iowa) would get the Raider faithful fully into it. The exciting first set would come to a climatic close when Metzger and Savonne Sterk (Jr., Lynden, Wash.) paired up for back-to-back blocks, followed by the final point being tallied by a massive swing from Jazlin De Haan (Jr., Orange City, Iowa) as the Red Raiders took it 25-17.
 
The Bulldogs, proving to be a resilient bunch, would not be rattled dropping the first set as they would go onto take the next two and a 2-1 match lead. Concordia jumped out to a 3-1 lead in set one before NWC would fight back. The set saw the most runs, as Concordia had a three-point swing, followed by a four-point swing, and immediately topped by a six-point swing. Concordia would lead 13-9 following their run, prompting a Red Raider time out. Northwestern would snag the next two points out of the break, but the Bulldogs would continue to keep the pressure on and opened a five-point lead at 16-11. Leading 19-17 late, the Bulldogs would take the final six points to even the match at a set a piece, winning set two 25-17.
 
In a whole new match, an ever-important third set would commence with both teams battling evenly and with phenomenal defensive play. Neither team able to get a true foothold early, Northwestern would be the first to use a time out, down 13-10. Following the break, De Haan would put down back-to-back kills to make it 13-12, CUNE. Concordia would open up a 20-16 lead late in the set, but the Red Raiders would take five-straight points to make it 23-21. However, not to be outdone, the Bulldogs got the last bite with four-straight points of their own to take the 2-1 match lead with a 25-21 set three victory.
 
Northwestern would come out with something to prove in the must-win fourth set, highlighted by the play of junior defensive specialist Jori Hajek (Jr., Renwick, Iowa) who kept every ball in her direction up. The Bulldogs would take the first three points of the set and would open up a 5-1 advantage. Three-straight Red Raider points would make it 5-4 and the two teams would trade points until a four-point swing with Liv Reitsma (So., Papillion, Neb.) at the service line would give NWC a 10-8 advantage and force a Concordia time out. The two teams would each take a couple point lead following the time out, only to see the other go on their own run and steal that lead back. Knotted up at 20-20, the Red Raiders would take five of the next six points to force the decisive fifth set (25-21). Once again, it would be De Haan who put down a kill to keep the Red Raiders hope of a conference tournament title alive.
 
The Bultman Center was ready to support the Red Raiders in the fifth set, ramping up the volume level early in the set. A pair of kills from De Haan and a service ace from Logan Miller (Fr., Jefferson, S.D.) would open up a 6-3 Red Raider lead. The teams would switch sides with an 8-5 Red Raider lead. Concordia would try and claw back, but could never get over the hump. With every push, Northwestern found a way to answer and keep them at bay. De Haan would tally three big kills late to give NWC a 13-10 advantage, and it would be Macay Van't Hul (Jr., Rock Valley, Iowa) who would secure the tournament title with an over-ball kill, as Northwestern prevailed, 15-11.  
MATCH NOTES:
  • NWC secures their fourth GPAC tournament title under Kyle Van Den Bosch and the first since 2014.
  • Northwestern posted 19 team blocks for the third time this season and in back-to-back matches.
  • Jazlin De Haan (27 kills, 14 digs) and Liv Reitsma (31 assists, 15 digs) both notched double-doubles.
  • NWC held the hitting percentage advantage (.189 to .127).
  • De Haan posted a double-double in every game of the GPAC tournament and has 15 on the season.
  • Reitsma posted her eighth double-double, doing so in back-to-back matches.
  • Zavyr Metzger recorded her fifth double-digit blocking match of the season with her match-high 10.
  • Macay Van't Hul added nine blocks and Emma Westphal with seven to her name.
  • Olivia Granstra was one dig shy of her season-high, notching 34 to leads the match.
  • In total, four Raiders notched double digit digs: Granstra (34), Jori Hajek (18), Liv Reitsma (15), and Jazlin De Haan (14).
  • NWC improves to 2-2 in five set matches on the year and 8-2 against top-25 NAIA opponents.
  • Northwestern enters the national tournament winners of 12-straight matches.
  • The victory marks the 11th home win inside the Bultman Center this season and the second-straight over CUNE.
Up Next: The Red Raiders will have a rematch with No. 4-ranked and No. 2-seed Concordia (Neb.) inside the Bultman Center on Saturday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m., following a full day of basketball on campus.

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