Dakota Wesleyan at Northwestern

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The Red Raider volleyball team opened conference play with a straight-set, 3-0 victory over Dakota Wesleyan. Northwestern improves to a perfect 5-0 this season, 1-0 in the GPAC while the Tigers drop to 2-3 overall.

Northwestern never trailed in the match and .292 as a team in the three-set match. The Red Raiders led 4-3 in the first set and then outscored the Tigers 6-2 to take a 10-5 lead. After a DWU timeout, Northwestern went on another big run behind the serving of Janna Bloemendaal and grabbed a 17-6 lead en route to a 25-14 win.

Northwestern started fast in set two as well as they led 4-1 and then 11-5. The Red Raiders outscored DWU 6-2 to close out the second set for a 25-12 win. In the third set, Coach Van Den Bosch's squad led 10-2 and cruised to the 25-13 win.

The Red Raiders had a balanced attack at the net, led by sophomore Hillary Hanno who recorded eight kills and two blocks. Kate Buyert added seven kills and three blocks while Randa and Rylee Hulstein added six kills each. Randa led NWC with six blocks and Janna Bloemendaal totaled a team-best 15 digs. Kaitlin Beaver lofted up 29 assists and added three kills and three ace serves. Northwestern served 91% as as team with nine aces.

Northwestern will next play at the College of Saint Mary's Classic where they will play Southern Nazarene and third-ranked Concordia (Calif.).