MELLETTE – Northwestern won its 20^th match on the season in a sweep over Aberdeen Christian on Tuesday evening.

The Wildcats earned a 25-9, 25-15, 25-16 Lake Region Conference volleyball win over the Knights.

Despite the loss, Christian coach Sara Powell was pleased with her team.

“Northwestern has a great team and we knew that we would need to cover like crazy, which we did pretty well,” Powell said. “We still have some work to do, but overall, I was happy how they did.”

The Knights came out slow in set one, allowing the Wildcats to set the tone and take the set convincingly. However, Christian played with confidence during sets two and three. Even though Northwestern was able to take both sets, Powell was glad to see her team improve during the match.

“The girls started off a little slow, but gained some confidence and started playing like they knew how to,” Powell said.

Northwestern was led by Ashley Haven with 15 kills, 14 digs, 5 block assists, and 3 aces, while Payton Grandpre had 7 kills, 16 digs, and 4 aces. Ella Boekelheide had 25 assists and a pair of aces.

Aberdeen Christian was led by Payton Skarin with 4 kills, 8 digs, 1 ace, and 1 block assist.

Northwestern (20-5) travels to Faulkton on Thursday, while Christian (9-16) will host Herreid-Selby Area Monday.

Powell said the team will look to take advantage of the time off before Monday’s match.

“We have the rest of the week off, which is much needed for some extra practices and rest,” Powell said.

Serving: Aberdeen Christian 34-41 2 aces (Payton Skarin 9-10 1 ace, Sawyer Schwan 4-6 1 ace); Northwestern 67-73 10 aces (Payton Grandpre 28-29 4 aces, Ashley Haven 9-10 3 aces, Ella Boekelheide 11-12 2 aces).

Hitting: Aberdeen Christian 72-93 11 kills (Skarin 18-22 4 kills, Sophia Eichler 11- 14 3 kills, Jolie Fogarty 8-9 2 kills); Northwestern 87-105 34 kills (Haven 38-43 15 kills, Grandpre 14-17 7 kills, Nicki Nickeson 10-14 5 kills).

Setting: Aberdeen Christian 91-99 8 assists (Jolie Fogarty 43-47 3 assists, Schwan 31-35 3 assists); Northwestern 101-102 30 assists (Boekelheide 84-84 25 assists).

Digs: Aberdeen Christian 49 digs (Alexis Isakson 13, Skarin 8, Chloe Bosma 7); Northwestern 59 digs (Grandpre 16, Haven 14, Tara Blachford 10).

Blocks: Aberdeen Christian 6 blocks (Ari Johnson 4 solo, Skarin 1 assist, Bosma 1 assist); Northwestern 12 assists (Haven 5 assists, Boekelheide 2 assists, Taylor Vetter 2 assists, Ana Ratigan 2 assists).

Records: Aberdeen Christian 9-16; Northwestern 20-5.