The duo named All-Americans for the second-straight season
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Following the best NAIA national tournament run in school history, the Northwestern College volleyball team (31-3, 14-2 GPAC) saw three athletes named 2023 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans for their play on the court this season. Jazlin De Haan was named a First Team All-American, and Alysen Dexter was a Second Team selection.
Jazlin De Haan – First Team All-American
De Haan (Jr., Orange City, Iowa) was instrumental in the Red Raider offense this season, finishing first in the GPAC in kills per set and top-5 in the NAIA (4.69) while sitting second in the league in total kills (521).
The junior had a team-high 19 double-doubles this season, including having one in every single game played at the Final Site in Sioux City this season. She twice hit a career-high mark with 27 kills (Viterbo and against Concordia in the GPAC championship match). Defensively, she had five games this season where she recorded at least 20 digs in a match. She was also one of six Red Raiders to have double-digit service aces this year with her 10.
Alysen Dexter – Second Team All-American
Dexter (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa) joined De Haan on the All-American teams for the second-straight year, proving to be a potent 1-2 punch for the Red Raider offense this season. She sat eighth in the GPAC in kills per set (3.30) and hit at a clip of .214 which sits second-best of her three seasons at Northwestern (.224 in 2021). On October 6, she picked up her 1,000th career kill in the 3-0 sweep of Doane.
The junior also led the GPAC in service aces (58) and service aces per set (0.50) on the season, with her total number of aces sitting top-20 in the NAIA (18th). Early in the season at the CSM Labor Day Classic, Dexter set a new program single match record with 13 service aces against Providence (Mont.).
Olivia Granstra – Honorable Mention All-American
Granstra (Jr., Sheldon, Iowa) was the backbone of the Red Raider back row this season from her libero position. She increasingly saw her digs per set mark creep up the GPAC leaderboard, topping out at second in the league at 5.68 digs per set. She led the team with her 664 total digs, setting a new career-best in a season for the Sheldon, Iowa native. She recorded a season-best 35 digs in the 3-1 road victory over then No. 12-ranked Jamestown to secure a share of the GPAC Regular Season title. Five times this season she recorded 30+ digs.
Additionally, she notched 30 service aces this season, her second-most in her career for a season (36 in 2021). The mark sat fourth on the team.
The Honorable Mention nod is the first-career All-American recognition for Granstra. She was named a First Team All-GPAC performer. Last season, she was named a Second Team All-Conference honoree.
Of the 14-person First Team All-American squad, four hail from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), led by the duo from Northwestern. Concordia (Neb.), Dakota Wesleyan, and Jamestown all had one First Team honoree. In total, nine GPAC athletes were tabbed to the three All-American teams.
The Raiders finished the season with a 33-3 record, the seventh-straight season with 20+ wins, while also recording the program’s best-ever finish at the NAIA national tournament with their national runners-up finish.
