The Briar Cliff volleyball team dropped its GPAC opener to #3 Northwestern Wednesday in straight sets (18-25, 17-25, 20-25) in the Bultman Center.
 
"I thought our performance tonight was the best performance yet by our team this season," said head coach Lindsey Weatherford. "Avery Beller dug well in defense and has been a leader in our defense. She is always making strong moves to the ball to put us in a position to run our offense. Kiersten Baker continues to be consistent for us at the net, and has really solidified her spot in our lineup and has been producing points for our offense."
 
The Red Raiders got off to a strong start with a 7-3 lead, forcing an early Charger timeout. NWC extended their edge to 13-6, but the Chargers took advantage of three straight NWC attack miscues to score four points in a row. A kill from Sami Wasmund, followed by one from Kiersten Baker, and another Red Raider error, the Chargers found themselves trailing by just 2 late in the first set to the No. 3 ranked team in the NAIA. The Red Raiders, however, were too much to handle as they scored six of the final seven points to take set one.
 
Similar to the first set, the Chargers found themselves down 8-3 to begin set two. They began to fight back into the set to pull within two, 12-14, after a kill from Filimaua Afatia. Northwestern would began to pull away late in the set, and go up 2-0 in the match.
 
The Chargers were the ones to start quick in the third set, building up a 7-4 advantage. Yenne Schepers started off with an ace, while four different hitters recorded a kill in the first seven points. The Chargers would hold the lead through the first half of the set. With the score tied at 13-13, the score would tie three more times, before the Red Raiders closed out the match with another late set surge.
 
Baker led the Blue and Gold with six kills on a .316 hitting percentage. Wasmund and Toria Andre each recorded five kills. Olivia Corey and Yenne Schepers tallied 13 and 12 assists, respectively. Avery Beller dug 15 balls, a team high and had one assist.
 
The Chargers will be back in action this Friday and Saturday for four games at the CSM/United Sports Academy Labor Day Classic.