WEATHERFORD, OKLAHOMA - Northwestern continued conference play with their fourth straight Great American Conference game following a perfect 3-0 start to the conference season. Northwestern battled with Southwestern Friday evening as Southwestern took a close opening set before taking the match 3-1 over the Rangers. Addison Wimmer led the Rangers with 20 kills, Cameron Lobb led the team with 34 assists, and 15 digs for a double-double as Andrea Coady led the team with 19 digs.

Northwesters loses their first conference game of the season falling to 3-1 in GAC play and 10-5 on the season. The Bulldogs move to 6-8 on the year with a 3-2 conference record.

SET ONE:

Southwestern opened quickly in Friday night's match with a quick 4-0 lead following a kill and two service aces. A Northwestern timeout changed the momentum though as out of the break Wimmer started the scoring for the Rangers with a kill. Southwestern maintained their four point lead through the opening set holding the score at 8-4 before the Rangers climbed back. An attack error by the Bulldogs evened the score at 11-11. Two straight kills by the Bulldogs pushed them back in front at 13-11 as the Rangers took a timeout.  A kill by Ravyn Burns followed by an attack error brought the Rangers back to a 15-15 tie. Southwestern grabbed the next three points for an 18-15 lead before Wimmer ended their run with a kill. The Bulldogs opened their largest lead in the first set with a 23-17 lead following a kill. Northwestern battled back with three straight points force the Bulldogs into a timeout at 24-22 following a kill by Tarra Parks. Out of the break Southwestern closed out the first set with a kill to win it 25-22 to take a 1-0 set lead. 

SET TWO:
 

The Rangers opened the second set fast with three straight points a kills from Carmae Jones followed by back-to-back service aces from Cameron Lobb. Northwestern continued their run holding a 6-2 lead following a service ace from Wimmer. The Bulldogs closed the gap to 6-5 following a kill but the Rangers answered pushing the lead back to 10-7 following a kill by Wimmer. Northwestern used a 4-0 run following three kills by Wimmer and a Bulldog attack error to take a 15-10 lead forcing a Bulldog timeout. Northwestern kept the momentum on the Ranges side out of the break after a block by Burns and Parks pushed the Rangers to their largest lead at 17-11 to that point of the set. After the Bulldogs second timeout the Rangers scored four of the next five points to open a 22-12 lead. The Bulldogs would get as close as seven points following a quick 3-0 run to make it a 23-16 lead for the Rangers. A kill by Wimmer stopped the Run to make it 24-15 before Northwestern closed out the 25-17 set two win to even the match at 1-1. 

SET THREE : 

Wimmer opened the third set with a kill as Southwestern matched though with a kill to quickly even the score at 1-1. The Bulldogs used this to spark a 5-0 run and take a 5-1 lead forcing the Rangers into their first timeout of the set. Southwestern continued with their pace as they opened a 12-4 lead following seven of the next nine points over the Rangers. Northwestern took the next three points to cut the deficit down to five. However the Bulldogs went on an 11-1 run to take an 18-8 lead over the Rangers in the second set. Southwestern overall closed the set on a 13-4 run to take the third set 25-12 and a 2-1 set lead over the Rangers. 

SET FOUR:

In the fourth set the Bulldogs jumped out first before Wimmer started the Rangers rally as Northwestern took the next three points to take a 4-2 lead. A Russell kill followed by a Bulldog error had the Rangers up 6-3 as Southwestern called their first timeout. Out of the timeout a Burns kill followed by a Wimmer kill put Northwestern in a 10-4 lead scoring four straight points following the timeout. Bulldogs answered with three of the next four points to cut the Ranger lead to 12-8 following two kills. Southwestern continued to climb back following a Northwestern timeout with the first two points to push the Ranger lead down to 12-11 before tying the set at 12-12. The Bulldogs pushed them to 8-0 run to take a 15-12 lead before the Rangers stopped the run on a Russell kill, followed by a Wimmer kill as the Rangers traield 15-14.The Bulldogs answered back with two straight to push their lead back to three at 17-14. The Bulldogs answered back as they had back to back kills to take a 20-18 lead. A Wimmer kill followed by an attack error forced the Bulldogs into a timeout with the Rangers trailing 21-20. Out of the timeout the Bulldogs took four of the next six points to win set four 25-22 and take the match 3-1 over the Rangers. 

Northwestern close the week with their third conference game with a Saturday afternoon match as the Rangers play Oklahoma Baptist in a conference match set for a 1:00 PM start in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

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