Game Time... The Dordt College Defenders come to the Bultman Center this evening to take on Northwestern in a key GPAC volleyball match. Dordt enters tonight's match with a 21-6 mark but just 2-4 in the GPAC while NWC is 15-6 overall and 3-2 in the league. The JV match will begin at 6:00 pm, followed by the varsity at 7:30 pm.
Last Time Out... Last weekend, Dordt lost a pair of matches on the road, both by 3-1 scores, to Nebraska Wesleyan and Doane. Individual game scores against Doane were: 30-26, 30-26, 31-33 and 30-26. Kendra Potgeter had a big weekend with 38 kills and Emily Van Voorst averaged 60 assists in the two matches. Northwestern iscoming off a 1-1 weekend road trip, in which they defeated Concordia last Friday night, 3-1, and gave the Bulldogs their first home loss of the season. On Saturday, however, NWC lost to Hastings, 3-0, in a battle of ranked teams. Individual game scores were: 30-25, 30-26 and 30-23. The loss ended the Red Raiders five match win streak. Kaitlin Beaver and Randa Hulstein led the way offensively with 25 and 22 kills, respectively.
Scouting Report... Dordt is led by Kristen DeRonde who ranks fifth in the GPAC at 3.81 kills per game. Potgeter (3.4) and Larissa Veldhuizen (3.3) are the other top hitter for the Defenders. Van Voorst, a two-time all-conference selection, averages 12.6 assists, 2.6 digs and served 29 aces this season. Freshman Dorinda Hibma is seventh in the GPAC with 5.1 digs and is tied for the team lead with 34 ace serves.
Red Raider Notes... Balance has been one of the keys to the Red Raiders success this season as five players average over 2.5 kills per game. Hillary Hanno ranks eighth in the GPAC with a .320 hitting efficiency and is second on the team with 70 blocks. Hulstein leads NWC with 73 blocks and averages 2.5 kills per game. Bobbie jean Rich (3.0 kpg), Megan Meyer (2.9 kpg) and Kaitlin Beaver (2.7 kpg) are the other top weapons at the net. Rachel Gosselink is second in the GPAC averaging 12.8 assists per game and is second on the team with 26 ace serves. Janna Bloemendaal leads the back row averaging 3.1 digs per game and is serving 94% from the service line. She also has 11 aces. Delainye Hardersen is serving at team-best 95% and has 18 ace serves. Versatile senior Karrisa Davelaar has 66 kills, is averaging 2.6 digs per game and has a serve receive percentage of 92%.
The Series... Northwestern won three of four matches last season against the Defenders, including a 3-0 win in the NAIA Region III quarterfinals. Dordt holds the series advantage since 1988, however, 27-31.
Coming Up... Northwestern will host two more games Homecoming weekend as they play Dakota Wesleyan on Friday night, followed by Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon. Next week, the Red Raiders play Mount Marty at home (Oct. 10) before the midterm break.
2007 media guide
