Women's Volleyball Monday, November 27, 2023 NWC Athletic Communications

PREVIEW: NAIA Volleyball Final Site - Pool Play

The Red Raiders will play at 10:00 a.m. on Court 1 both days

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – After picking up their fourth-straight National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Opening Round sweep, the top-ranked Northwestern College volleyball team (27-2, 14-2 GPAC) is set to compete in Sioux City at Tyson Events Center in Pool Play of the NAIA national tournament Final Site. Northwestern, as the top-seed in Pool A, will play on Wednesday, November 29 and Friday, December 1 on Court 1 against St. Ambrose (Iowa) and Bellevue (Neb.).

You can catch the action live on the NAIA website for a charge, or listen on KSOU Radio (93.9 FM) with Doug Broek on the call.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Northwestern won their first Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) tournament title since 2014 with a thrilling five-set win over No. 4-ranked Concordia (Neb.) on November 11 inside the Bultman Center, marking just the fourth five-set match for the Red Raiders this season.

The Red Raiders, the following weekend, picked up their fourth-straight sweep in the NAIA Opening Round with a dominating 3-0 win over the College of the Ozarks (Mo.) Bobcats out of the Continental Athletic Conference. Northwestern hit a dominant .273, while their defense stifled the Bobcat attack and held them to a mere .010 hitting percentage. Collecting 12 blocks in the match, NWC was led by six blocks from Macay Van't Hul (Jr., Rock Valley, Iowa) and Savonne Sterk (Jr., Lynden, Wash.). The NAIA's leading blocker Zavyr Metzger (So., Larchwood, Iowa) also added five blocks. Jazlin De Haan (Jr., Orange City, Iowa) paced the Red Raider offense with her 19 kills on an impressive .302 hitting percentage.

Earning the automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament, St. Ambrose (Iowa) picked up a thrilling 3-2 five set win over Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) foe and No. 16-ranked College of Saint Mary in Omaha on Saturday, seeing the first two sets post scores of 31-29 and 30-28 in favor of St. Ambrose. The Fighting Bees enter the Final Site with an overall record of 20-14 (10-4 CCAC) and winners of eight-straight matches. For SAU in the Opening Round match, both Mackenzie Grafton and Meredith Siebers notched 16 kills to pace the team, while Grafton also led the squad with her 16 digs.

The Bruins of Bellevue University (Neb.) are a semi-familiar foe for the Red Raiders meeting in both the 2021 and 2020 seasons. Bellevue earned an at-large bid to the NAIA national tournament this season, after dropping the North Star Athletic Association championship match to No. 5-ranked Viterbo (Wis.) in straight sets. The Bruins will bring a 25-9 (8-4 NSAA) record to the Tyson Events Center. The Bruins are coming to the Final Site in Sioux City after a 3-1 win over (RV) Indiana East in the Opening Round of the NAIA tournament on Saturday in Bellevue. Eve Fountain led the Bruins with her 14 kills, while four Bruins posted double-digit kills in the four-set match.

NORTHWESTERN NOTABLES

NWC is making their 19^th all-time appearance in the NAIA tournament.
Northwestern won their fourth-straight NAIA Opening Round match, all four being in straight sets.
The Red Raiders head to Sioux City on a 13-game win streak.
NWC had eight GPAC All-Conference honorees; highlighted by three major awards – Player of the Year (Jazlin De Haan), Co-Defensive Player of the Year (Zavyr Metzger), and Coach of the Year (Kyle Van Den Bosch).
NWC leads the NAIA in blocks per set as a team (3.54), while Zavyr Metzger leads all NAIA individuals with her 1.99 blocks per set mark.
Metzger continues to lead all four-year collegiate volleyball divisions (NCAA DI, DII, DIII, NAIA, NCCAA DI, DII) in blocks per set.
October was a phenomenal month for the Red Raiders, as they blocked at an impressive clip of 3.74 blocks per set; the highest of the three full months of the season (Aug., 2.80; Sept., 3.62).
November is giving the month of October a run for its money, as the Red Raiders have blocked at a clip of 3.73 in the four matches in November.
Jazlin De Haan leads the GPAC in kills per set (4.79); that mark sitting SECOND in the NAIA.
NWC held a 12-2 record on the home floor (Bultman Center) this season.
The Raiders are a perfect 6-0 in neutral site games on the year entering the Final Site.
Northwestern has eight NAIA top-25 wins this season (8-2, .800 win%).
The Red Raiders completed two undefeated months this season: August (5-0) and October (8-0).
NWC's 23 sweeps now sits in a four-way tie for second-most in program history.
The Red Raiders sit second in the GPAC in hitting percentage (.231).
Olivia Granstra continues to sit second in the league in digs/set at 5.67.
Alysen Dexter leads the GPAC in service aces (53) and sits T12^th in the NAIA in aces per set (0.55).

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING BEES

St. Ambrose pulled an upset over GPAC foe College of Saint Mary in a thrilling five sets in Omaha to advance to Sioux City.
Mackenzie Grafton leads the team in both kills (3.94/set) and digs (2.62/set), while sitting second in service aces with 36.
Four Fighting Bees have notched 30 or more service aces on the season.

SCOUTING THE BRUINS

Bellevue enters the Final Site following a 3-1 victory over (RV) IU East in the Opening Round.
Kealy Kiviniemi paces the team with her 356 kills and 3.02 kills/set mark.
Haley Fleischman leads the team with her 99 blocks.
Taylan Keefer paces the squad with her 5.19 digs per set.

RED RAIDERS IN THE NAIA TOURNAMENT

The Red Raiders hold a 40-31 (.563) record in the national tournament.
They picked up their 40^th all-time win in the national tournament with the 3-0 sweep of the College of the Ozarks in the Opening Round (Nov. 18).
Northwestern has made seven appearances to the NAIA Quarterfinals, six have been done by Van Den Bosch at the helm.
VDB has led NWC now to 13 national tournament appearances and seven-straight.

GPAC POSTSEASON HONORS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: JAZLIN DE HAAN
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: ZAVYR METZGER
COACH OF THE YEAR: KYLE VAN DEN BOSCH
First Team Honorees: De Haan, Metzger, Olivia Granstra (DS/L), Alysen Dexter (OH)
Second Team Honorees: Liv Reitsma (S), Macay Van't Hul (MH)
Honorable Mention Honorees: Savonne Sterk (RS), Jori Hajek (DS)

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the national tournament Final Site can be purchased through the link above, through the Tyson Events Center's website (linked above and on the schedule page).
Adults will be charged $15 per match, K-College students will be charged $8. The full tournament pass adult price is set at $60.

GAME INFORMATION
The Pool Play at the Final Site of the 2023 NAIA national tournament will once again be held at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City. Both matches will be played at 10:00 a.m. on Court 1 with the Quarterfinals scheduled for Saturday, December 2.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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Players Mentioned

#13 Jazlin Douma: OH; 5' 11"; Junior

#11 Alysen Dexter: OH; 6' 0"; Junior

#4 Olivia Granstra: DS; 5' 7"; Junior

#10 Zavyr Metzger: MH; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#9 Liv Reitsma: S; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#16 Savonne Sterk: RS; 5' 9"; Junior

#14 Macay Van't Hul: MH; 6' 1"; Junior

#2 Jori Hajek: OH/DS; 5' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#13 Jazlin Douma
: 5' 11"; Junior
: OH

#11 Alysen Dexter
: 6' 0"; Junior
: OH

#4 Olivia Granstra
: 5' 7"; Junior
: DS

#10 Zavyr Metzger
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: MH

#9 Liv Reitsma
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: S

#16 Savonne Sterk
: 5' 9"; Junior
: RS

#14 Macay Van't Hul
: 6' 1"; Junior
: MH

#2 Jori Hajek
: 5' 5"; Junior
: OH/DS