NorthWood’s Kate Rulli shares a laugh with Maddy Payne earlier this season. The two hope to join the Red Slam in a last laugh this Saturday at the Norwell Volleyball Regional. (File photo by Mike Deak)

OSSIAN – The stars must have aligned just right Saturday night. Winning sectional titles over a 100 miles apart, NorthWood and Northwestern are both heading east to visit Norwell, situated in northern Wells County. All the directional alliteration aside, both programs hope to the trending north to open the regional round.

NorthWood is white hot, winners of its last 28 matchups including a complete romp of the Wawasee sectional last week, beating Wawasee, Tippecanoe Valley and West Noble without much opposition. During their 28-game streak, which dates back to Aug. 24 when NorthWood went 2-2 at the Tom Heck Tournament at Penn, the Red Slam has lost just two sets and swept a very competitive Northern Lakes Conference table for its first outright title since 2002.

NorthWood, coming into the Class 3-A Norwell Volleyball Regional this weekend, is 31-3 overall and its only losses are to Class 4-A regional contenders Penn (in a dual and in the Heck Tourney) and Homestead (also at the Heck Tourney).

“As a coach, it’s nerveracking, we’ve lost two sets since we’ve lost to a team,” said a relatively composed Hilary Laidig after her team rolled to the sectional championship last Saturday night. “I feel like the longer we go…I should just trust them. They step up every time they need to. You just have to trust them. As long as they keep practicing as hard as they do. As hard as they play, they push each other like that in practice every day. That says a lot about them, too.”

The Red Slam have five players with at least 100 kills, giving them multi-dimension attack options. Outside hitters Alea Minnich and Ali Knepp have grown into very capable complimentary scorers, boosting the chances for middle hitters Maddy Payne and Kate Rulli to take aim. Payne leads the team with 378 kills and Rulli has 155 to her name, the two also combining for almost 90 blocks.

Driving the Red Slam is Caroline Mullet, who has been all over the court this season. Mullet’s 916 assists are among the top 10 in the state, but she also has a team-leading 318 digs, 34 aces, 11 blocks and has developed into a scorer with 107 kills, making her a must-watch for any defense with her ability to not only drive over on two, but swing as a left hander as teams try to contain the trees on the inside.

“Right now we are just pushing all the right buttons,” Laidig said. “We are getting the points up front, but defensively, we are making a lot of plays as well. We’re letting our defense flow into our offense, and vice versa. Can’t complain as a coach right now.”

NorthWood’s defense has also been outstanding this season, with five players with at least 200 digs. The combo of Kennedy Hochstetler and Kendal Miller have traded libero responsibilities and have combined for over 500 digs while Macy Lengacher and Gracie Clark have also dug 200-plus attempts.

That defense will get tested in a hurry as Northwestern brings some big-time scoring to Norwell for the morning’s first matchup at 10 a.m. Madison Layden is among the state’s best with 551 kills, and like Mullet, can do much more with 335 digs, 246 assists, 71 blocks and 47 aces. Kendal Rooze has set up 686 points this season and the duo of Mckenna Layden and Klair Merrell have 421 kills and 414 digs between them.

The Tigers (32-2) are also coming in on a big win streak, 22 in a row in fact, and their only two losses are to Carmel and Mishawaka at the Mishawaka Tournament on Aug. 31. Among their wins are a pair of wins against Three Rivers Champion Maconaquah and single wins against highly-ranked Mishawaka Marian and Pioneer as well as Lafayette Central Catholic and Wabash.

On the other side of the bracket at Norwell are Angola (27-4) and Bellmont (22-10) which play in game two. The Hornets come in with a very impressive résumé, knocking off No. 2 Fort Wayne Dwenger in the sectional, the second time Angola beat Dwenger during the season. Angola also has two wins against Garrett and Fairfield during runs to the NECC season and tournament titles, and Fort Wayne area wins over Carroll, Homestead and Warsaw. Ashlyn Meyer (332 kills, 47 blocks) and Cait Snyder (308 kills, 194 digs) along with Emma Archbold (915 assists) pace the Hornets.

Bellmont comes in after upsetting state contender Muncie Burris to win its sectional, and does have a head-to-head win over Angola during the season, a 3-2 finish on Oct. 5. Bellmont has four players with at least 147 kills, led by Emilee Scheumann’s 367, and Sophie Krull and Rachel McBride have a combined 670 digs while Sarah Noonan has assisted on 872 points this season for the Braves. Bellmont has quality wins over Homestead and Fort Wayne Carroll as well as a pair of wins against Elkhart Memorial.

The Norwell Regional championship is set for 7 p.m.