Northwestern College Athletics

FOREST CITY, Iowa — Northwestern (21-1, 11-0) defeated Waldorf (11-9, 3-8) 3-1 on Wednesday. The Raiders won the final two sets 25-20 and 25-13, holding Waldorf to five kills and a -.176 hitting percentage in the fourth.
 
After Waldorf built a 6-2 lead behind two Peyton Klooster service aces and kills by Jalyn Hovenga and Zoey Uhlenhopp, the Raiders answered with seven straight points to move in front 9-6. Anni Wedgbury served six of those points, including two aces, while Jadyn Hofmeyer had two kills and Maddy Sampson added one during the run. The Raiders stretched the lead to 13-7 before Waldorf worked back within 19-18, but Hofmeyer's kill and two Waldorf attack errors pushed the margin back to 22-18. Waldorf fought off set point twice at 24-20, including a Rina Maiava ace, before the Raiders closed the set 25-22 on the final rally.
 
After Halie Kapelke tied the second set at 1-1, Waldorf scored four straight behind a Rina Maiava ace and two Emily Goodner kills to move in front 5-1, then pushed the margin to 8-2 before the Raiders' first timeout. The Raiders got points from a Waldorf attack error and a Wedgbury ace after the timeout, and later kills by Sampson, Aubrey De Groot, Hofmeyer and Kapelke helped bring the score to 16-11. Waldorf answered with five consecutive points, including kills by Zoey Uhlenhopp, Addy Stull and Goodner and two blocks involving Uhlenhopp, to take a 21-11 lead. The Raiders countered with four straight points, capped by kills from Stella Winterfeld and Sampson, before Waldorf took four of the final five points and closed the set 25-16 on Uhlenhopp's kill.
 
After Waldorf moved in front 8-2 during Peyton Klooster's service turn, the Raiders came out of a timeout with kills from Winterfeld and Kapelke, a Nyah Potthoff ace and an Aubrey De Groot-Winterfeld block to get within 8-7. Waldorf briefly went back ahead 9-7, but Winterfeld and Potthoff put down consecutive kills to tie the set at 9-9, and the teams traded points through a 15-15 score. After Waldorf tied it again at 16-16, the Raiders scored three straight on a Winterfeld kill, her service ace and an Aubrey De Groot kill to move ahead 19-16. The Raiders stayed in front from there, reached set point at 24-19 on a Peyton Klooster attack error and closed the third set 25-20 on a Winterfeld kill from Potthoff.
 
The Raiders moved ahead 7-2 in the fourth set as Winterfeld put down three early kills and Kapelke added a kill after consecutive Waldorf attack errors. Waldorf got back within 13-8, but the Raiders answered with a service error by Waldorf, another Winterfeld kill and back-to-back Potthoff aces to stretch the lead to 17-8. After Waldorf trimmed it to 17-10, Bella Sysa, Makenna Lilly and Hofmeyer delivered kills as the Raiders pushed the score to 22-11 behind Maggie Bloom's service ace. Aubree Shields and Sampson combined on blocks for points at 24-12 and again on the final rally, closing the Raiders' 25-13 fourth-set win.

Game Notes:

• Nyah Potthoff racked up 39 assists in the match.
• Maddy Sampson had 10 kills and 6 blocks.
• Sidney Oostra anchored the back row with 16 digs.

Up Next: The Raiders play the Sioux City schools next week. On Wednesday, October 21, the Raiders head to Morningside to play the Mustangs at 7:30 PM. On Saturday, the Raiders are set to host Briar Cliff in the Bultman Center at 3:00 PM.