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Northwestern College Athletics

Northwestern College
HOME OF NORTHWESTERN RED RAIDERS ATHLETICS
HONORING CHRIST THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
Nike
vb-recap-251208
0
Concordia (NE) CUNE 27-4
3
Winner Northwestern NWC 33-3
Concordia (NE) CUNE
27-4
0
Final
3
Northwestern NWC
33-3
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Concordia (NE) CUNE 23 13 9 (0)
Northwestern NWC 25 25 25 (3)

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

Raiders Sweep Bulldogs to Reach National Championship

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Northwestern powered through to its second national championship appearance with a commanding three-set sweep over Concordia (Neb.) in Monday's semifinal.

"This was a great team effort tonight to get this win," head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch said. "I thought our serving and serve reception was really good tonight which allowed us to run our offense pretty efficiently. This was also one of our best defensive efforts on the year from our block to our scrappy back row."

NWC 3, CUNE 0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-9)
How It Happened
The opening set saw a seesaw battle as both the Red Raiders and the Bulldogs traded points, each side seizing on attack errors. Stella Winterfeld led the charge for the Raiders, starting the night with a kill before Zavyr Metzger earned two points on a kill and a block to give the Raiders an early 4-2 lead. After Sidney Oostra's roll shot catapulted her team to a 5-2 lead. Concordia's Ashley Keck kept the Bulldogs in the game with a string of kills, giving them an 8-7 lead. The Bulldogs led through the midway point before Rylie Franken put an end to the run with a kill at 14-10, followed by a Nyah Potthoff ace to make things interesting.

Trailing 17-11, the Raiders rallied by taking four of five points to make it 19-16 and force a Bulldog timeout. An attack error later leveled the score at 20-20, and Northwestern regained the advantage with a Franken swing. In a nail-biting finish, the Raiders clinched the set 25-23, thanks to a decisive kill from Winterfeld, her eighth of the set.

The Red Raiders seized control early in the second set, with Winterfeld again the standout performer, landing multiple kills and helping Northwestern to an early 2-1 advantage. After a Bulldog timeout at 8-4, the Raiders showed no signs of letting up, with Emma Westphal and Maddy Sampson connecting on the block, driving the score to 9-4. In the midst of Madi Nemmers' service run, the Raiders scored six unanswered to get the crowd on its feet. Concordia attempted to fight back, but Nemmers was once again foundational on the serve, helping the Raiders to the final six points and capping off the set with an ace.

Dominance was the theme in the third set as the Raiders burst out with three straight kills from Winterfeld. A service ace by Bloom, followed by another from Nemmers, propelled the Raiders to a 13-3 lead. The Bulldogs struggled to find their rhythm, calling timeouts at 5-0 and 15-4 to no avail. Northwestern continued to surge ahead, taking six of the last seven points to secure its 25th sweep of the season.

MATCH NOTES:
  • The Raiders advance to their second national championship in program history, also for the second time in three seasons.
  • Northwestern's 25 sweeps this season is second in school history behind the 2009 season's 29 sweeps.
  • Stella Winterfeld led all players with 14 kills.
  • The setting duo of Liv Reitsma and Nyah Potthoff each had double-doubles, with Reitsma going for 16 assists and 12 digs and Potthoff recording 13 assists and 12 digs.
  • Maggie Bloom led all players with 13 digs.
  • Bloom and Madi Nemmers each served two aces.
  • Rylie Franken picked up six kills on an efficient .375.
Up Next: Northwestern will face Indiana Wesleyan in a rematch of the 2023 NAIA Championship, tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. inside the Tyson Events Center.
Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut
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