Women's Volleyball Tuesday, December 5, 2023 NWC Athletic Communications

Northwestern Looks to Claim First National Championship Tuesday Night

Raiders will face undefeated Indiana Wesleyan at 7:00 PM

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Both sides are seeking their first national title in program history as top-ranked Northwestern (31-2, 14-2 GPAC) will take on the No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats (37-0, 18-0 Crossroads) in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championship. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Tyson Events Center.

You can catch the action live on ESPN3 or listen on KSOU Radio (93.9 FM) with Doug Broek and Byron Noordeweier 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. In Pool Play, the Red Raiders picked up wins over St. Ambrose (Iowa) (3-1) and No. 18-ranked Bellevue (3-0) to advance to bracket play of the national tournament.

In the Quarterfinals, the Red Raiders met the Lions of Vanguard University (Calif.) who entered the match with a 29-1 record and was riding a 27-match win streak. Dropping the first set (18-25), the Red Raiders rattled off three-straight set victories (25-23, 25-22, 25-14) to win their first-ever NAIA Quarterfinals game. Northwestern dominated the third set with a .385 hitting percentage and recorded just one error in the set. The Red Raiders blocked 14 attacks, and Jazlin De Haan Jr., Orange City, Iowa) led all attackers with her 15 kills.

The Semifinals saw the Raiders defeat the Viterbo (Wis.) V-Hawks in four sets. Northwestern took the first two sets (25-22, 25-17) before Viterbo stayed alive with a thrilling 27-25 set three. In the fourth, the Raiders erased an early deficit to advance to the Championship, winning 25-19. De Haan put up 19 kills and 10 digs, while Macay Van't Hul (Jr., Rock Valley, Iowa) had 12 kills on a .450 hitting percentage. Zavyr Metzger (So., Larchwood, Iowa) totaled 10 blocks to move to 33 on the season, which is tied for the program record.

Indiana Wesleyan advanced to Sioux City on a 3-1 win over Talledega (Ala.) and made it out of their pool, defeating Oklahoma Wesleyan and IU Kokomo 3-0 and 3-2, respectively. In the Quarterfinals, the Wildcats defeated Jamestown 3-1 and advanced to their program's first Championship with a 3-1 Semifinal win over Eastern Oregon.

NWC is making their 19^th all-time appearance in the NAIA tournament.
NWC advances to their first-ever appearance in the NAIA Championship with a 3-1 win over Viterbo.
Zavyr Metzger is currently tied for the program record in single-season blocks.
Jazlin De Haan recorded a double-double in every match played inside the Tyson Events Center.
Northwestern holds a perfect 10-0 neutral site record so far this season.
The Red Raiders enter Tuesday on a 17-match win streak.
Liv Reitsma had two double-doubles in the Tyson Events Center (Bellevue, Vanguard).
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).
Announced on Thursday, the Red Raiders had three major AVCA All-Region honors: Player of the Year (Jazlin De Haan) Coach of the Year (Kyle Van Den Bosch) and Assistant Coach of the Year (Lacey Reitz).
NWC leads the NAIA in blocks per set as a team (3.54), while Zavyr Metzger leads all NAIA individuals with her 2.00 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 blocked at a clip of 3.58 in the five matches in November.
Jazlin De Haan leads the GPAC in kills per set (4.68); that mark sitting SECOND in the NAIA.
Northwestern has TEN NAIA top-25 wins this season (10-2, .833 win%).
The Red Raiders completed three undefeated months this season: August (5-0), October (8-0), and November 5-0).
NWC's 24 sweeps now sits in sole possession of second-place in program history.
Olivia Granstra continues to sit second in the league in digs/set at 5.65.
Alysen Dexter leads the GPAC in service aces (55).

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.

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

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

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