Box Score

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Northern State University rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win the final three sets of the match to claim a 3-2 (16-25, 20-25, 25-21, 28-26, 15-11) win over Augustana College on Saturday in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball action.

NSU, coming off a three-set loss to third-ranked Wayne State on Friday, rebounded for their fifth win in their last seven matches to improve to 13-10 overall and 5-9 in the conference.  AC slipped to 11-12 on the season and an even 7-7 in league matches.

The Wolves got 17 kills from senior Jordan Schaffer and another 14 from junior Konefesi Vaisigano and a whopping 10 block performance from senior middle blocker Whitney Morsching in the effort.

After dropping the opening two sets, the Wolves turned the tide starting in the third set, capitalizing on a slew of Viking miscues in the final three stanzas.  Augustana committed 24 of their 36 attacking errors in that span, including ten in the fourth set.

The Wolves got down to business midway through the third set, rattling off six straight points to rally from a 16-14 deficit to take a 20-16 lead.  Augustana rallied to tie it at 20, but a Vaisigano kill and a Kaili Aiono service ace put the Wolves back on top for good.  The Vikings then handed the Wolves two more points on two straight attack errors before Vaisigano finished off the set with another kill.

The Vikings appeared to have the fourth set under control, rolling out to an 18-14 lead, but again let the Wolves back into contention with an 8-0 run to go up 21-18.  NSU, however, could not hold out for the regulation victory, as the Vikings rallied to forge ties at each point from 23 through 26.  Augustana then handed the Wolves another set point after a setting error by Dani Haley before Vaisigano again finished out the set with a kill, sending the match to the fifth and final set.

The back-and-forth nature of the previous two sets carried over into the deciding stanza, as neither team could manage to pull away with any authority.  NSU finally gained a two-point edge on a Schaffer kill only to see the Vikings pull back within one using an NSU ball handing error.  Schaffer then pushed the lead back to two with her final kill of the night.  Freshman Sami Nygaard took the ensuing serve and gave the Wolves the match point with a service ace, followed by a Viking error at the net that gave the Wolves the final set and match win.

NSU senior Megan Gilbraith finished the night with 21 assists and three service aces, while Nygaard had 18 assists and a pair of aces.  Sophomore libero Ella Campbell led five Wolves in double dig figures, finishing with 20.

The Wolves return home for four straight matches next week, hosting Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State in a pair of NSIC match-ups.  Due to a scheduling conflict, both matches will be held at the Strode Center on the campus of Presentation College.  Friday's match will start at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday's contest will tip off at 5 p.m.