Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Northwestern College Athletics

Northwestern College
HOME OF NORTHWESTERN RED RAIDERS ATHLETICS
HONORING CHRIST THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
Nike
vb-recap-viterbo-231204
1
Viterbo VIT 34-5
3
Winner Northwestern NWC 31-2
Viterbo VIT
34-5
1
Final
3
Northwestern NWC
31-2
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Viterbo VIT 22 17 27 19 (1)
Northwestern NWC 25 25 25 25 (3)

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

Raiders Advance to Title Match with Four-Set Win Over Viterbo

De Haan, Van’t Hul, and Dexter each with double-digit kills

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – An electric atmosphere bolstered the top-ranked Northwestern volleyball team (31-2) in their quest for a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championship berth, as the Raiders defeated the No. 5 Viterbo (Wis.) V-Hawks (34-5) in four sets.
 
"All of our girls did their part really well," said head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch. "I thought our defense was good - our blocking digging – and offensively was one of our best nights. We needed it against a quality opponent like Viterbo."


The Raiders opened up the first set with a 5-2 lead on a kill from Savonne Sterk (Sr., Lynden, Wash.) followed by an Emmy Wedgbury (Jr., Cedar Falls, Iowa) service ace, building momentum early. After a 3-0 run to give Northwestern a 10-6 advantage, Viterbo needed a timeout, sending the Red Raider faithful to their feet. Northwestern continued to block a series of V-Hawk attacks, including one by Jazlin De Haan (Jr., Orange City, Iowa) and Zavyr Metzger (So., Larchwood, Iowa) to force another timeout up 16-8. The V-Hawks came out firing from the break, coming within 21-19 before the Raiders got to set point on a Metzger and Alysen Dexter (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa) rejection. Viterbo continued to keep it interesting, scoring the next two before a Dexter lob created confusion defensively and helped the Raiders take set one.

Northwestern once again started quick, as Macay Van't Hul (Jr., Rock Valley, Iowa) swung from the middle for the kill to go up 6-3, but Viterbo answered with a 6-1 run to go up 9-7. Northwestern tied it back up as De Haan found the open spot in the center of the defense to make it 9-9. The Raiders continued their run, forcing a timeout up 12-9 on three consecutive V-Hawk attack errors. Out of the timeout, following a Viterbo point, Olivia Granstra (Jr., Sheldon, Iowa) went on a 3-0 service run and helped the Raiders to a 15-11 lead. The Raiders then proceeded to take five of the next nine points, as a pair of Viterbo errors forced a V-Hawks timeout with the score 20-15. To close out the set, Van't Hul collected three kills in the final five points, while De Haan closed it out to end the second set 25-17.
 
The third set brought plenty of drama as Viterbo needed a few extra points to get to a 27-25 win. Northwestern started out strong, moving out ahead 5-1 on a De Haan kill before the V-Hawks pulled ahead on a 6-1 run. Despite trailing 14-11 later in the set, Northwestern battled back ahead 15-14, forcing a timeout after an attack error. The score continued to remain close throughout the set, as Northwestern needed a late timeout trailing 23-21. After some adjustments, Northwestern pulled ahead to set point, and the teams managed to get to the 25th point tied. Grace Rohde then put the set away for Viterbo, sending down the next two kills to come within a set.

Viterbo continued its stellar play into the fourth set, opening up a 6-2 lead, while De Haan stopped the run with an attack blocked out of play. Northwestern battled back again, tying it at 6-6 with kills for De Haan and Van't Hul. The competitive atmosphere remained high as Viterbo answered with a run of their own, moving ahead 13-8. Liv Reitsma (So., Papillion, Neb.) then had an impressive service run, helping Northwestern to three-straight points and cutting the deficit to 15-13. Trailing by three at 16-13, the Raiders scored six of the next seven, assisted by two service aces to go up 19-17. It was all Northwestern from that point forward, as the Raiders scored the final five points to spark the celebration and put Northwestern in its first NAIA National Championship game.
 
GAME NOTES Up Next: The Raiders will play for their first national title in program history, facing No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan (37-0) tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. in the Tyson Events Center.
Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut
Print Friendly Version