Northwestern College Athletics

Winterfeld Shines in Ranked GPAC Showdown
 
Orange City, Iowa — Northwestern defeated Dakota Wesleyan (SD) 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-15) on Saturday in conference play. The Red Raiders finished with a 50-25 kills advantage and hit .311 while holding the Tigers to .039.
 
The Red Raiders answered an opening DWU point with early production from Stella Winterfeld, Halie Kapelke and Nyah Potthoff, moving ahead 5-2 on Potthoff's service ace. The Tigers trimmed the gap to 9-8 and later tied the set at 10-10, but the Raiders responded with four straight points, including three consecutive Winterfeld kills, to go back in front 14-10. After the Red Raiders stretched the lead to 20-14 on a Kapelke kill, DWU scored four straight to get within 20-18 before Maddy Sampson's kill and a block by Potthoff and Sampson helped push the margin back to 24-18. Aubree Shields finished the set with a kill from Potthoff, giving the Raiders the opener 25-19.
 
The Red Raiders built a 9-2 lead in the second set behind early kills from Winterfeld, Shields and Aubrey De Groot, with Sidney Oostra adding a service ace. DWU cut the gap to 11-8 with four straight points, including two kills by Keatyn Liebsack, before the Raiders moved back ahead 14-10. A Winterfeld kill started a 10-0 Red Raiders run from 14-10 to 24-10, and Potthoff served nine straight points in that stretch, including two aces and kills from Winterfeld, Kapelke and De Groot. After the Tigers stopped the run once, Winterfeld finished the set with a kill from Tierney Huss for a 25-11 Raiders win.
 
Madi Nemmers' serving helped the Red Raiders build a 6-0 start to the third set, with Potthoff and Winterfeld recording kills and Winterfeld joining Sampson on a block during the run. The Raiders pushed the margin to 13-4 on a DWU attack error and a Kapelke kill, then moved ahead 17-5 behind kills from Sampson and Potthoff and an Anni Wedgbury ace. The Tigers answered with five straight points, including an Evy Knoblock kill and a Kayleigh Hybertson ace, to cut the score to 17-10. Winterfeld added kills at 21-13 and 24-14, and the Red Raiders closed the set 25-15 on an Evy Knoblock attack error.
 
Game Notes:

• Stella Winterfeld dominated the match with 25 kills, 13 digs, and 4 blocks.
• Sidney Oostra led the defense in digs with 20 on the match.
• The Raiders keep their GPAC winning streak alive and are now 4-0 this season.
• Halie Kapelke notched 8 kills on a .471 hitting percentage.

Up Next: Dordt University comes to town on Wednesday, September 23 at 7:30 PM for the first of two rivalry matchups in the regular season.