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Volleyball

Hello Colorado: NWC defeats Trinity Christian to earn NCCAA National Tournament berth

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PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. (Nov. 22, 2008) – The Northwestern College volleyball team punched its ticket to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Tournament in suburban Denver, Colo. on Saturday after defeating host-school and top-seeded Trinity Christian College in the North Central region tournament. The Trolls from Trinity Christian took NWC to just its fourth five-set match of the year before the Eagles posted a 15-6 set victory to claim the region championship. Northwestern is now 3-1 in five-set matches in 2008.

Each of the preceding four sets resulted in a maximum of three-point differences. Trinity Christian won the first set 27-25 before the Eagles claimed Sets 2 and 3 with scores of 25-22 and 28-26. The Trolls came back to win the fourth set 25-23 before NWC's Set 5 victory kept the Eagles' season alive.

Northwestern's season-long combination of Steph Koth (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) and Kathryne Engel (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) (Wayzata, Minn./West Lutheran) paced their team again. Koth had 18 kills and a .302 personal attacking percentage, while Engel added 17 kills. Koth, who was named an AVCA NCAA Div. III Honorable Mention All-American earlier in the week, led the Eagles with 26 digs in the afternoon match.

NWC had a team attacking percentage of .213, while Trinity Christian was only able to counter with a .190 mark. Northwestern also held an 85-77 advantage in digs.

Hillary Slagter (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) led NWC with 39 assists, while teammate Leah Kostek (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian ) (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) had 17. The Eagles recorded 10 serving aces in the match, including four by Danielle Rhodes (Iowa City, Iowa/City) (Iowa City, Iowa/City), who had four. Kostek also had three aces.

Defensively, Kelsey Korporal (Sumner, Iowa/Sumner-Fredericksburg) (Sumner, Iowa/Sumner-Fredricksburg) tallied 19 digs. Elissa Sandstrom (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) led the Eagles' blocking efforts, getting a hand in three blocks.

After the match, Koth, Bicket and Engel were both named to the NCCAA All-Region First Team, while Rhodes was selected an all-region honorable mention winner.

At 28-5 this season, Northwestern is within one win of tying the program's single season win record. The Eagles, who haven't lost a match in over a month, will get to enjoy their Thanksgiving before travelling to Lakewood, Colo., home of Colorado Christian University and the NCCAA National Tournament, which begins on Dec. 4. NWC shouldn't have a problem getting adjusted to the national stage, as the Eagles have hosted the tournament for the past three years.

nwceagles.com will have information about the NCCAA National Tournament as it becomes available. To familiarize yourself with Colorado Christian and their initial setup for the event, click here.
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