Lexington, Ky. – In the final AVCA Top-25 rankings of the 2017 season, the Northern State University volleyball team sits at No. 12. The Wolves finished the season with a 23-7 record overall and 631 total points.
The 2017 Wolves took the program to new heights this season, finishing third in the NSIC. NSU qualified for the programs third NCAA National Tournament battling with Minnesota Duluth. As a team they rank sixth nationally in hitting percentage, while recording five victories over top-25 opponents, including a 3-1 win over the No. 1 Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State.
Ashley Rozell,
Jenna Reiff,
Hailey Busch, and Laura Snyder were all named to the NSIC All-Conference first team, with Snyder being named the Freshman of the Year. She was also selected to the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament team, leading the Wolves with 16 kills in their match against the Bulldogs. Rozell was named CoSIDA Academic All-District after finishing the season ranked eighth nationally averaging 11.85 assists per set, while Busch was named to both the D2CCA and AVCA All-Region Teams. Busch became the fourth Wolf in program history to be named to the AVCA All-America team.
In the final poll of the season, the Wolves are joined by National Champions No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul, No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State, No. 4 Minnesota Duluth, No. 19 Winona State, and No. 22 Augustana from the NSIC. Regional opponents No. 9 Nebraska Kearney, No. 14 Arkansas Tech, No. 18 Central Oklahoma, and No. 25 Missouri Western also found themselves on the list.
| Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Total Points |
Final Record |
Prev. Rank |
| 1 |
Concordia - St. Paul (48) |
1200 |
34-3 |
3 |
| 2 |
Florida Southern |
1075 |
30-7 |
21 |
| 3 |
Southwest Minnesota State |
1050 |
29-4 |
2 |
| 4 |
Minnesota Duluth |
1011 |
26-7 |
7 |
| 5 |
Lewis |
879 |
33-3 |
4 |
| 6 |
California Baptist |
846 |
29-1 |
1 |
| 7 |
Western Washington |
810 |
27-4 |
5 |
| 8 |
Regis |
785 |
31-4 |
9 |
| 9 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
737 |
33-4 |
6 |
| 10 |
Gannon |
697 |
32-7 |
NR |
| 11 |
Rockhurst |
662 |
32-8 |
NR |
| 12 |
Northern State |
631 |
23-7 |
11 |
| 13 |
Cal State San Bernardino |
593 |
24-8 |
NR |
| 14 |
Arkansas Tech University |
570 |
35-1 |
8 |
| 15 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
551 |
26-4 |
9 |
| 16 |
West Florida |
474 |
30-7 |
17 |
| 17 |
NW Nazarene |
446 |
25-5 |
14 |
| 18 |
Central Oklahoma |
411 |
29-6 |
15 |
| 19 |
Winona State |
335 |
21-8 |
13 |
| 20 |
Tarleton State |
311 |
29-6 |
12 |
| 21 |
Colorado School of Mines |
264 |
25-6 |
18 |
| 22 |
Augustana (SD) |
240 |
23-9 |
16 |
| 23 |
Ferris State |
195 |
24-8 |
20 |
| 24 |
Flagler |
163 |
27-4 |
NR |
| 25 |
Missouri Western |
119 |
25-11 |
NR |
