Volleyball season preview, Northwestern College Red Raiders

2009 Season Preview:

With three consecutive 30-win seasons and two straight trips to the national quarterfinals, the Northwestern College volleyball team has been one of the nation’s elite in recent years. Under the direction of Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch, beginning his fifth year at NWC, the Raiders have qualified for nationals the last three seasons and have finished in the top three of the conference each year. Last season, he guided the Raiders to the conference championship, the program’s first since 1999, with an unblemished 16-0 record. Van Den Bosch and his staff then led the Raiders to another impressive run at the national tournament, reaching the Elite Eight for the second straight year. The two-time GPAC Coach of the Year returns eight of the top nine players from that 2008 squad, and expectations are high heading into the 2009 season. ”The past few years have had some great memories that the team will cherish for long time,” commented Van Den Bosch. With three All-Americans and a wealth of big match experience returning for Coach Van Den Bosch’s squad, 2009 could be another banner year for Red Raider volleyball. Team

The 2009 squad returns four seniors who have been with Coach Van Den Bosch since he took the program over in 2005. Together, the group has accumulated an impressive 118-38 overall record, 55-9 in conference play. “The four seniors and Rachel Gosselink have been an intricate part of the teams’ success during the past three years,” said Van Den Bosch. Randa Hulstein looks to cap off her outstanding career in this her final season. The 6’1” middle hitter earned first team NAIA All-American honors and was named GPAC and the AVCA regional player of the year after leading the team in hitting percentage (.331) and blocks per set (1.3). Hulstein begins the 2009 season in eighth place all-time in career kills (1.241) and second in career blocks (581) but also came into her own as an all-around player last season, averaging 3.04 digs and posting 31 ace serves. “Randa has had a great last three seasons and has improved each year. We look forward to her competing at a high level again this year.” Janna Bloemendaal, a 5-5 senior, has started the last two years as the libero and earned honorable mention all-GPAC honors in 2008. She averaged a team-best 4.2 digs per set and fielded an impressive .956 serve receive percentage on the season. Bloemendaal is closing in on the all-time digs and digs per set records at NWC, ranking eighth in digs (1,439) and sixth in digs per game (3.4). “Janna is one of our emotional leaders and is playing great at the libero position for us.” Delainye Woudstra (Hinton, Iowa) is another talented three-year letter winner returning in the backline for Coach Van Den Bosch’s squad. The 5’5” senior averaged nearly 1.5 digs per set and served 93% in 2008. Serving specialist Kristin Kooima (Rock Valley, Iowa) also returns for her final season after a 2008 season in which she served 30 aces and recorded an 87% serve percentage. “Delainye is outstanding at serve receive and has been a steady server for us the last three years. Kristin brings energy and enthusiasm and delivers a great serve for our team.”

hillaryKaitlin Joining the four seniors is a strong junior class, featuring a pair of returning NAIA All-Americans, Kaitlin Beaver (Sioux Center, Iowa) and Hillary Hanno (Sioux City, Iowa). Beaver made the successful switch to the full-time setter position last season after spending her freshman year as an outside hitter. The 6’1” standout earned third team NAIA All-American honors as the catalyst of an offense that hit .253 as a team last season. Beaver recorded 8.3 assists and 2.3 digs per set to go with a team-best 53 ace serves and was named first team all-GPAC for the second straight year. “Kaitlin is really playing well as a setter. She is thinking like a setter now and, coupled with her athleticism, she is one of the top setters in the country,” commented Van Den Bosch. A 5’10” outside hitter, Hanno led the team with 3.7 kills and 2.3 digs per set and hit .266 last season, earning her NAIA honorable mention All-American and first team all-GPAC honors. She is coming off an outstanding national tournament in which she was second in kills per game and was named to the all-tournament team. “Hillary is a great finisher of plays. She can get a kill from several places on the court with her attack.” Bobbie jean Rich (Tilden, Neb.) returns to the front line and will make the switch to the middle hitter position after playing on the both the left and right side the last two years. An outstanding blocker, Rich totaled 95 blocks and 90 kills last season. As a freshman, she ranked second on the team with 3.4 kills per game in 2007. “Bobbie is changing positions for the third straight year,” commented Van Den Bosch. “This is a compliment to her athleticism and being willing to do what is best for the team. We really look for her to have a great junior season.” Karis Vink (Zeeland, Mich.) will add depth at the middle hitter position after two years on the junior varsity and a reserve on the varsity.

Rylee Hulstein (Sioux Center, Iowa) returns for her sophomore season after a 2008 season in which she received second team all-GPAC honors. The 6’0” outside hitter averaged 2.4 kills, 2.9 digs and totaled 75 blocks last season. “Rylee got better as the year went on last season and we look for her to continue that momentum this year.” Another sophomore, Kate Buyert (Hull, Iowa), will set out the season after an injury to her knee in the offseason. Buyert started at middle hitter last season and averaged 1.8 kills and ranked second with 114 blocks.

Coach Van Den Bosch brings in another strong recruiting class, featuring 13 newcomers, to join the talented list of letter winners. Jaci Moret (Orange City, Iowa), Jennifer Jansen (Oak Harbor, Wash.) and Heather Goehring (Sioux Falls, S.D.) come in with all-state accolades and will compete for varsity time.

The 2009 Raiders will face another challenging regular season schedule, with 10 matches against teams that qualified for the national tournament last season. The conference slate of matches, in particular, will be tough as Morningside, Dordt and Doane all made it to the final site at the NAIA Tournament (20 teams) and return several key players to their respective teams. “Our conference is always tough and this year will be no different,” commented Van Den Bosch. Coach Van Den Bosch’s squad opened the season this past weekend playing host to the 15^th annual Red Raider Classic where they went 3-1, falling to fourth-ranked Azusa Pacific (Calif.) in a thrilling five-setter. The goal remains the same, however, for Van Den Bosch and his squad, to play the best volleyball at the end of the season. “Our goal is to bring glory to God through how we play the game. We are excited to see that the Lord has in store for this team.”