The Red Raiders lost their final match in pool play to top-seeded Fresno Pacific (Calif.), 3-0. Northwestern drops to 2-1 in pool A but will advance to play in the 10-team single elimination tournament which will begin tomorrow morning at 10:30 am.
Northwestern fell behind early in game one, 7-2, but stormed back to tie the game at nine. Both teams battled over the next few points and were unable to pull away until Fresno Pacific scored five consecutive points to take a 20-15 lead. The Red Raiders were not able to recover and lost 30-23.
In game two, NWC had the early lead (10-7) before the Sunbirds scored three straight points to tie it at 10. With the score tied at 15, FPU outscored the Red Raiders 15-4 the rest of the way and won game two, 30-19.
Fresno Pacific led from start to finish in the final game, although Northwestern kept it very close, and won 30-25.
Northwestern hit .158 for the match and was led by Bobbie jean Rich and Kaitlin Beaver with 10 kills each. Beaver also recorded four ace serves and three digs. Megan Meyer and Hillary Hanno added seven and five kills, respectively. Janna Bloemendaal led the team with 13 digs and Rachel Gosselink lofted up 33 assists.
Coach Van Den Bosch's squad, now 30-11 on the season, will play in the quarterfinal play-in game at 10:30 am. Their opponent will be the runner-up team from pool D.
2007 media guide
