The Red Raiders went 2-0 in pool A play on the first day of the 2007 NAIA National Volleyball Championship. This year's event is hosted by Columbia College in Columbia, Mo. Northwestern, seeded 10th in the 20-team field, improved to 30-10 overall and will play top-seed Fresno Pacific tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 pm. Both the Red Raiders and Fresno Pacific will advance out of pool play and will play in the 10-team single-elimination tournament which will begin Friday.
In the the Red Raiders first match against 22nd-ranked Westminster College (Utah), Northwestern defeated the Griffins 3-2. NWC won game one 30-23 and held a lead in games two and three before losing both, 30-28 and 30-25. The Red Raiders trailed by one, 24-23, in game a tight game four before they scored seven straight points, behind the serving of Janna Bloemendaal, to win 30-24. With the momentum in their favor, Coach Van Den Bosch's squad stormed out to a 3-1 lead in game five and built up the lead to 14-9. Westminster, however, scored the next four points and trailed 14-13 before a kill by Hillary Hanno sealed the match for NWC.
Northwestern hit .196 for the match compared to .189 for Westminster. Megan Meyer recorded a game-high 25 kills and had 20 digs. Bobbie jean Rich and Kaitlin Beaver added 19 and 18 kills, respectively. Hillary Hanno recorded nine kills and a team-high six blocks, including a pair of crucial blocks in the fifth and decisive game. Rachel Gosselink lofted up 59 assists and had 13 digs. The Red Raiders served aggressively, recording 10 ace serves, led by Beaver with five. Janna Bloemendaal had a team-best 28 digs.
In their second match, Northwestern defeated SUNY-Canton (N.Y.) from the Sunrise Conference, 3-0. Individual game scores were 30-12, 30-12 and 30-7. Randa Hulstein and Megan Meyer led the way with 11 kills each. Kaitlin Beaver and Hillary Hanno recorded seven and six kills, respectively, and Karrisa Davelaar added five kills and 14 digs. Rachel Gosselink had 44 assists and one ace serve. Delainye Hardersen, Janna Bloemendaal and Hanno all recorded two aces. The Red Raiders hit .406 for the match.
Northwestern, 2-0 in pool play and 30-10 overall, will face top-seed Fresno Pacific (Calif.) tomorrow at 1:30 pm.
2007 media guide
