Red Raiders Defeat Broncos 3-0 in GPAC Semifinal
(Orange City, IA) – Following their thrilling quarterfinal win on Saturday, the Hastings volleyball team fell 3-0 (20-25, 20-25, 21-25) at undefeated #1 Northwestern on Wednesday in the GPAC Semifinals.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
20 | 20 | 21 | 0 |
|
|
25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Team Stats
Northwestern
| Game Statistics | Hastings | Northwestern |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .123 | .261 |
| Blocks | 2.0 | 9.0 |
| Digs | 50 | 55 |
| Aces | 1 | 2 |
(Orange City, IA) – Following their thrilling quarterfinal win on Saturday, the Hastings volleyball team fell 3-0 (20-25, 20-25, 21-25) at undefeated #1 Northwestern on Wednesday in the GPAC Semifinals.
The first set featured 12 straight points with alternating points, before Northwestern took a 9-6 lead. The Red Raiders went up 14-9, but Hastings won five straight points, including a kill from senior Majesta Valasek, evening the score at 14. Northwestern then went on a 5-0 run and Hastings could never fully recover in the set, falling 25-20 in the first set.
Hastings won three of the first four points of the second set, getting kills from freshmen Makenna Sutter and Mikah O'Neill, as well as senior Miriam Miller. Northwestern rallied to go up 4-3, but the Broncos won six of the next eight points to take a 9-6 lead, getting four kills from Valasek in that stretch.
With Hastings leading 11-8 in the second set, the Red Raiders responded with four straight points and eight of the next 10, giving them a 16-13 lead. Hastings would get the lead down to two on the next point, but couldn't get close the rest of the way, dropping the second set 25-20.
In the third set, they again took three of the first four points, with kills from O'Neill and Valasek. Northwestern fought back to take a 6-4 lead, then grew their lead to four at 12-8. Valasek and O'Neill again responded with kills, cutting the lead to 13-12 before Northwestern expanded it back to four at 19-15.
Hastings came back with the next four points to tie up the third set at 19-apiece. From there, Northwestern controlled the game to the finish, losing just two of the next eight points to wrap up the set and the match, 25-21.
Valasek and Sutter each had 11 kills for the Broncos, along with seven from O'Neill. Juniors Alexis Pontine and Kinzi Havranek had 15 assists, while Miller and fellow senior Dacey Sealey had 12 digs each.
Hastings wraps up the regular season and conference tournament with a 15-12 overall record and 8-8 conference record. The Broncos will now wait for the NAIA Selection Show to see if they receive an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
