ORANGE CITY, Iowa – A milestone win!

The College of Saint Mary volleyball team knocked off Northwestern College 3-2 Friday night in a big Great Plains Athletic Conference showdown.

The Flames, who were ranked No. 11 in the country in the most recent NAIA poll, went on the road to Orange City, Iowa, and upset the Raiders, who were ranked No. 2 in the latest poll.

"What a great win on the road!" CSM Coach Rick Pruett said. "We played with so much heart and grit. I am so proud of this team. What an amazing team and an amazing win against a great Northwestern team!"

The Flames won the opening set 25-22 to start with the momentum. The Raiders battled back to take the second set 25-20 and then the third set 25-11. But CSM is known for a never-say-die attitude and fought to win the fourth set 25-21.

College of Saint Mary took control of the fifth – and deciding set – early but faced adversity when starter Azaria Green went down with an injury. Northwestern rallied to close the gap, but the Flames were able to hold on and then clinch the victory 15-8.

Lexie Langley led the Flames offensively with 14 kills. Kamryn Willman tallied 11 kills, Grace Werner had 10 and both Green and Alex Radcliffe finished with nine each. Morgan Ramsey contributed eight. Setters Lauren Anderson and Miranda Ring had a whopping 30 and 27 assists, respectively.

Defensively, Rachel Cushing had a match-high 28 digs, Anderson tallied 23, Radcliffe finished with 16 and Ring added 14. Willman had five block assists and one solo block to pace CSM.

"Everybody played a big role," Pruett said. "It was our defense that stepped up and got this done for us. We had 109 digs – 28 by Rachel and an amazing 23 by Lauren. Offensively, Lexie and Kamryn were great."

The Flames are now 5-2 in the GPAC and 16-3 overall. Northwestern falls to 5-2, 14-2. CSM continues its road trip Saturday with another GPAC contest at Dordt University. JV starts at 1:30 p.m. with varsity to follow at 3 p.m.

*In JV action Friday, Northwestern won 2-1 by scores of 25-16, 22-25, 15-13.