The Red Raiders defeated Hastings, 3-0, in the semifinals of the GPAC Volleyball Tournament. Northwestern, seeded second in the eight-team field, advances to their second consecutive conference final where they fill face top-seeded Morningside in Sioux City on Saturday night. The Mustangs defeated fifth-seeded Dordt College in the other semifinal match.
Coach Van Den Bosch's squad took control early in game one with a 6-0 run that put the Raiders up 15-8. The Broncos cut the lead down to five (15-10) but NWC responded with another four point run to win 30-21. Game two was extremely close the entire way with five ties and three lead changes throughout. With the score tied at 14, NWC outscored Hastings 7-2 to take a 21-16 lead. The Broncos fought back once again, twice getting the lead down to two points down the stretch. Northwestern, however, scored the final three points to win game two, 30-25. Game three, much like the second game, was very close throughout, with several lead changes. Trailing by one, 26-25, Northwestern outscored the Broncos 5-1 during the final stretch run to win, 30-27.
Randa Hulstein led the Red Raider attack with 11 kills and four blocks. The sophomore hit .476 for the match and also had two digs. Megan Meyer recorded a team-high 12 kills and 18 digs. Freshmen Hillary Hanno (8), Bobbie jean Rich (6) and Kaitlin Beaver (5) were also a force at the net. Rachel Gosselink lofted 38 assists, nine digs and three blocks for the winners. As a team, the Red Raiders recorded eight ace serves, two each by Gosselink, Kristin Kooima and Delainye Hardersen.
Northwestern will carry their 27-7 overall record into Sioux City Saturday night to face the top-seeded Mustangs, with a 32-2 overall mark.
2007 media guide
