Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State University senior Jordan Schaffer pounded 17 kills – eight in the third set alone – and a .571 hitting percentage to lead the Wolves to a convincing 3-0 blanking (25-17, 25-14, 25-20) of the University of Mary Wednesday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball action.

The meeting was the second straight between the two teams, who also played on Saturday in Bismarck.  NSU claimed a 3-1 victory in that contest and returned home to celebrate its annual Breast Cancer Awareness match on Wednesday.

With the win, their third straight fourth in their last five matches, the Wolves improved to 12-9 overall and 4-8 in NSIC play, while the Marauders slipped to 5-16 on the season and 4-8 in conference matches.

The Wolves set the tone for the match early on, racing out to a 10-3 lead in the opening set behind the strong serving of sophomore libero Ella Campbell.  The Aberdeen native served seven straight points, recording back-to-back aces to spark the NSU spree.

Campbell also held serve for six straight points late in the second set.  NSU rode that streak to pull away from a 16-12 edge to a 21-13 advantage.  The Marauders broke serve on a Laci Murtha kill before another Schaffer smash set off another mini NSU run.  A Kaili Aiono-Katy Oelke block of an Amanda Hennessy attack finished out the set and sent the Wolves into the break with a 2-0 lead.

U-Mary turned the tables to open the third set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead before the Wolves re-gained their footing and mounted a steady comeback.  Following the opening spurt, the Marauders were never able to string more than two straight serves together in one setting.

NSU, meanwhile, used Schaffer's strong closing performance to stay a step ahead of the Marauders.  Campbell again closed out the set and the match with her third ace of the night.

Aiono added six blocks and seven digs to the NSU defensive effort.  The Wolves held U-Mary to a .127 attack percentage, including 20 Marauder errors.

The Wolves go back on the road this weekend, as they face rematches with Wayne State and Augustana on Friday and Saturday, respectively.