Northwestern at Bellevue

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The Event... Sixth-ranked Northwestern travels to Bellevue, Neb. to take part in the Bellevue Bruins Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Raiders will play four matches in two days, beginning with the hosts, Bellevue, on Friday at 11:15 am followed by a 3:45 pm match against Bethany (Kan.). On Saturday, NWC will take on fifth-ranked Georgetown (Ky.) at 11:15am followed by MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) at 6:00 pm. Follow along via the Bellevue website at the following link (live stats, video and audio are available: Follow along now!

All-Time Series... This will be the first ever meeting between NWC and Bethany while the Raiders are 5-4 all-time against Bellevue, including 1-0 this season. Northwestern holds a 2-1 advantage over Georgetown, with a victory in 1994 (3-0) and 2006 (3-1) but losing last week at the Holiday Inn Express Classic, 3-2.

Last Time Out...Sixth-ranked Northwestern improved to 4-0 in the conference with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-22) win over the University of Sioux Falls in GPAC volleyball last Tuesday night. Northwestern hit .386 for the match and was led by Hillary Hanno who totaled 15 kills and hit .481 for the match. Randa Hulstein and Rylee Hulstein pounded down 12 and 10 kills, respectively while Kaitlin Beaver lofted up 40 assists. Rylee Hulstein totaled a team-high 12 digs while Delainye Woudstra and Janna Bloemendaal added 11 digs each.

Red Raider Notes... Northwestern comes into the weekend tournament with a 14-2 record and undefeated in the GPAC (4-0). The Raiders have won 30 consecutive GPAC matches, dating back to the 2007 season.

As a team, NWC leads the GPAC in hitting percentage (.310) and ranks fourth in kills per set (13.2). The Raiders are also first in the conference in opponents hitting percentage, holding teams to just .065 this season. They are fifth in blocks (2.4) and second in aces (115).

Individually, Randa Hulstein and Hillary Hanno rank first and second, respectively, in kills per set averaging 4.2 and 3.98 kills per set. Hulstein ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage (.419) and is eighth in blocks (1.1). The senior middle hitter is the reigning GPAC player of the week, the second time she earned the honor. Hanno is hitting .334 on the outside to go with 1.8 digs per set. Sophomore Rylee Hulstein averages 1.8 kills per set and ranks fourth on the team in digs (2.5). Jennifer Jansen (1.3) and Bobbie jean Rich (1.1) are the other top hitters for Coach Van Den Bosch's squad. Setter Kaitlin Beaver, the reigning GPAC setter of the week, ranks second in the GPAC averaging 10.4 assists per set. She is ninth in the league with 24 ace serves. Janna Bloemendaal leads the Raider defense with 3.2 digs per set. The senior ranks fifth all-time in career digs (1,612) and needs 47 more to surpass Kelli Vermeer into fourth place. Delainye Woudstra serves a team-best 93% with 17 aces while posting 2.7 digs per set.

Up Next... The Raiders open a three-match home stand next Friday, Oct. 2 when they take on Dana.