Wildcats win at Region 1B semifinals
By Heather Jordan
ABERDEEN, SD – The Northwestern Wildcats tended to business at the Region 1B volleyball tournament taking down Langford 3-0 in their quest to defend their 2017 Class B State Volleyball championship.
The Wildcats defeated the Lions 25-15, 25-12, 25-19 in the semifinals of the Region 1B tournament at the Aberdeen Civic Arena, and cemented Northwestern’s berth in the SoDak 16.
Langford kept the match somewhat close in the opening set, but as soon as Northwestern settled in, the green proved to be too much to overcome even with a brief rally in the third set.
Sophomore hitter Sydney Schell dominated the Wildcat offense with 14 total kills, and added a pair of assisted blocks. Senior hitters Caitlyn Fischbach and Riley Grandpre each put down eight kills apiece.

The #1 seeded Wildcats will face the #16 seeded Harding County Ranchers in Mobridge on Tuesday, November 6th to battle for the right to advance to the Class B State Volleyball Tournament to be held Nov. 15-17 in Sioux Falls.
Northwestern    25-25-25
Langford Area 15-12-19
Region 1B at Civic Arena
Serving: Langford Area 36-44 1 ace (Chesney Olson 7-9 1 ace); Northwestern 69-74 10 aces (Hannah Schentzel 14-14 3 aces, Madalyn Groft 11-11 3 aces, Tya Weideman 16-16 1 ace).
Hitting: Langford Area 45-56 22 kills (Ady Dwight 26-29 17 kills, Olson 10-10 3 kills), Northwestern 79-90 38 kills (Sydney Schell 26-29 14, Caitlyn Fischbach 18-20 8 kills, Riley Grandpre 19-23 8 kills).
Setting: Langford Area 50-50 16 assists (Addy Taylor 21-21 8 assists, Olson 29-29 8 assists); Northwestern 86-86 36 assists (Groft 67-67 29 assists).
Digs: Langford Area 27 (Nelson 10, Maddie Reints 6); Northwestern 43 (Weideman 13, Groft 8, Schell 7).
Blocks: Langford Area 2 solo 4 assisted (Dwight 2 solo 1 assisted, Olson 1 assisted); Northwestern 6 assisted (Dani Watson 2 assisted, Schell 2 assisted).