Northwestern at Olivet Nazarene

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Northwestern College defeated Olivet Nazarene 3-0 in the first match of pool C at the 2008 NAIA Volleyball National Championships. Individual set scores were 25-17, 25-23 and 26-24. This year's event is being played at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa.

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The Red Raiders, seeded/ranked 10th, trailed early in the first set before three consecutive points gave NWC the lead for good, 9-8. Northwestern later scored five straight points to pull away, 17-11, en route to the 25-17 lead.

Olivet Nazarene came out fast in the second set and led 7-5. The Raiders battled back to tie the set at nine and the set remained very close thereafter. The score was tied nine times over the final stretch until Northwestern scored the final two points to take a 2-0 lead. Bobbie jean Rich closed the set with an ace block on the right side to clinch the win.

Like the first two sets, the Tigers grabbed the early lead in set three, 5-2. The Raiders came back to outscore ONU 8-5 to tie the game at 10 and then surged ahead 19-15. Back came Olivet Nazarene, however, outscoring NWC 7-1 to move ahead 22-20. Northwestern survived set point at 24-23 and then scored three straight points to close out the match and win, 26-24. Hillary Hanno sealed the deal with a kill on match point.

Northwestern hit .278 for the match compared to .126 for the Tigers. Hillary Hanno led the way with 17 kills and hit .275 in the three sets. Randa Hulstein compiled 10 kills, five blocks and 12 digs. Rylee Hulstein (6), Kate Buyert (5) and Bobbie jean Rich (4) were the other top hitters for NWC. Kaitlin Beaver lofted up 40 assists and served one ace. Kristin Kooima added three ace serves while Janna Bloemendaal totaled 11 digs.

Stephanie Smith led the Tigers with nine kills, followed by Erin Sikora and Michelle McFadden with six kills each.

Northwestern will next play #22 Walsh (Ohio) on Dec. 3 at 6:00 p.m.

Tournament Results