For the second time in the program's history, the Northwestern College volleyball team will play in the Elite Eight as they defeated the seventh seed, Columbia College, 3-2. The Raiders, the 10th seed, advance with a 31-11 overall mark while the host Cougars end their season with a 31-10 record.
Northwestern led by three late in game one but the Cougars rallied to win, 30-28. It was all Red Raiders in game two as they led by as much as 12 (21-9) en route to the 30-24 win. Columbia scored the first four points in game three only to have NWC tie the score at five. The Cougars then took control and were up 22-14 before a late Red Raider rally cut the lead down to two, 29-27. Northwestern battled back from 29-22 deficit but the rally fell short as Columbia earned the win in game three, 30-27. Both teams held the lead in the early stages of game four. Northwestern started to pull away and led 19-15 until a Cougar rally tied the game at 21. With the score tied at 29, NWC registered the final two points to earn the game four win, 31-29. Randa Hulstein put down the kill on game point to force the match to the fifth and final game.
In the final fifth game, Columbia led 6-3 early and increased it to 13-9. Northwestern, however, scored four straight points with Janna Bloemendaal serving to force the Cougars to use both timeouts. With the score tied at 13, Kaitlin Beaver and Hillary Hanno combined for an ace block to grab a 14-13 lead. Columbia, then, on match point, hit long on an attack attempt and the Red Raiders completed their comeback win.
Northwestern hit .247 for the match compared to .228 for Columbia. Randa Hulstein led the way with 20 kills, hitting .459 for the match, and 10 blocks. Kaitlin Beaver recorded 16 kills, eight blocks and four ace serves. Rachel Gosselink lofted up 54 assists and led the team with 14 digs. Hillary Hanno totaled four kills, six blocks and three ace serves. Janna Bloemendaal had 10 digs and three aces as well.
The Red Raiders move on with a 31-11 overall record and will play second-seeded California Baptist at 6:00 pm.
NAIA Volleyball National Championship
2007 media guide
