LA CROSSE, Wis. - One night after competition in Orange City, Northwestern headed to La Crosse and won a five set thriller over #15 Viterbo for their third straight top-20 road victory of the season.
NWC 3 - Viterbo 2 (15-25, 25-19, 25-22, 18-25, 15-10)
How It Happened
The opening set saw Northwestern and Viterbo trading points early, but the V-Hawks quickly gained momentum. Viterbo advanced their lead to 10-3 before the Raiders called two timeouts in an attempt to regroup, but the V-Hawks extended their advantage, pushing the score to 14-4.
Maddy Sampson responded with consecutive kills, narrowing the gap to 14-8. However, Viterbo maintained control, ultimately securing the set at 25-15.
The Raiders secured a 25-19 victory in the second set, highlighted by a strong offensive showing from
Stella Winterfeld.
Maggie Bloom made a significant impact for Northwestern, registering an ace and setting up Winterfeld for a series of successful attacks. Despite Viterbo's attempts to rally, the Raiders maintained control and concluded the set with an attack error by the V-Hawks.
In set three, Northwestern began with momentum, as
Sidney Oostra's service ace, followed by Winterfeld's consecutive kills, gave them an early 4-1 lead. Viterbo battled, but the Raiders' consistent offense, highlighted by
Rylie Franken's back-to-back scoring plays, maintained their advantage. Despite late pressure from Viterbo, including a series of attack errors by Northwestern, the set concluded with a service error from Viterbo, sealing Northwestern's win.
In a tense fourth set, the Raiders initially took control with a 5-3 lead, highlighted by a service ace from
Stella Winterfeld. Viterbo responded with a series of points, tying the score at 5-5. Northwestern extended their lead to 11-5 following several attack errors from Viterbo. However, the V-Hawks mounted a comeback and eventually overtook Northwestern 15-12. Despite the Raider's efforts, Viterbo clinched the set 25-18 with a final service ace, concluding a strong sequence of play.
In the decisive fifth set, Winterfeld initiated the scoring with a kill, assisted by
Maddy Sampson. Northwestern capitalized on errors from Viterbo, with blocks by
Zavyr Metzger and
Emma Westphal. A service ace from Nemmers at 8-4 and a kill by Franken at 12-7 helped solidify Northwestern's lead. The set concluded with a service error by Viterbo, sealing the win for the Raiders.
Match Notes
- Rylie Franken was a force once again with a career high 11 kills on 18 attacks while adding a block.
- It's the fourth ranked win of the season for Northwestern and the third straight.
- Zavyr Metzger and Emma Westphal led the way at the net with four blocks each.
- Liv Reitsma had a quiet 28 assists as Nyah Potthoff added 16.
- It was eight service aces for the Raiders, four of which came from Maggie Bloom.
- Stella Winterfeld filled the stat sheet with a team high 17 kills, one assist, two aces, two blocks, and 11 digs.
Up Next: Northwestern comes home for the Sioux County rivalry against the Dordt Defenders in Orange City on Wednesday, October 22nd at 7:30pm.
