No. 1 Northwestern ends BU season with sweep

Box Score
Pool Play Schedule/Results

SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Top-ranked Northwestern (Iowa) College ended the Bellevue University volleyball squad's 2023 season with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 26-24) sweep Friday morning in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship at the Tyson Events Center. 

The Bruins finished the season with a 26-10 overall record. NWC improved to 29-2, advancing to the NAIA Quarterfinals on Saturday between the winner of the Missouri Baptist-Vanguard match later today. 

Kealy Kiviniemi led the Bruins with 12 kills and a pair of blocks. Allie Kerns added nine kills on .212 hitting. 

Jazlin De Hann paced the Red Raiders, recording a double-double with 14 kills and ten digs, along with three blocks. Alysen Dexter added eight kills, two digs, and two blocks.  

Freshman Ali Butler led the BU defense with 13 digs. Mila Aiwohi and Taylan Keefer added 11 digs apiece. 

The Red Raiders recorded 13 blocks and got 19 digs from Olivia Granstra while limiting the Bruins to a .081 hitting percentage. 

Set 1: Northwestern 25, Bellevue 16

NWC raced out to a 14-6 lead following a 6-0 run aided by three BU attacking errors. After the Bruins used a 3-0 run sparked by kills from Kiviniemi and Haley Fleischman to pull to within five points at 19-14, NWC scored six straight to earn the 25-16 opening-set victory. 

Sidney Sledge (4) and Kiviniemi (3) combined for seven kills to lead BU in the first frame. 

The Red Raiders hit .333 in the first set, led by three kills each from De Hann and Dexter. 

Set 2: Northwestern 25, Bellevue 10

After a service ace by Kenzie Polk tied the second set at 3, the Red Raiders went on a 6-0 spurt, capped by a block from Macay Van't Hul and De Hann, to give NWC a 9-3 advantage. The Red Raiders expanded the margin to 10 points at 15-5 following a kill by Dexter. 

The Bruins never got closer than nine points the remainder of the set as NWC cruised to the 25-10 victory. The Red Raiders scored seven of the last nine points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.  

NWC hit .519 in the second frame with 14 kills on 27 errorless attacks. 

Set 3: Northwestern 26, Bellevue 24

Four kills by Kiviniemi helped BU generate an 8-1 lead in the third stanza, forcing NWC's first timeout of the match. 

The Red Raiders battled back, using a 7-2 spurt to pull to within three at 12-9, following a kill by Logan Miller. 

Back-to-back kills by Kerns forced NWC to take their second timeout at 16-10. A pair of kills by Kiviniemi helped BU expand the margin to seven points at 19-12. NWC countered with a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to two at 20-18, following a kill by De Haan.

After a pair of Red Raider errors gave the Bruins a 23-19 advantage, NWC used two blocks by Zavyr Metzger to spark a 5-0 Red Raider run, giving NWC a 24-23 lead. After a service error, the Red Raiders took the match following a BU attacking error and a block by Metzger and Savonne Sterk, giving NWC the 26-24 victory.