Box Score

CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota, Crookston Golden Eagles made it about as difficult a three-set match as they could, but the Northern State University Wolves prevailed, snapping a four-match losing streak with 25-11, 27-15, 27-25 win over UMC in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball action Friday night.

The win was the first in NSIC play for the Wolves, now 9-8 overall and 1-7 in conference action.  UMC slipped to 0-16 on the season and 0-8 in the NSIC.

NSU, playing without the services of injured front-liners Amber Bloom and Paula Martins, made quick work of the Golden Eagles in the first set, taking 19 of the final 22 points of the stanza.  That stretch included three kills and three blocks by junior Kaili Aiono, who moved to the front this week after serving as the team's libero through the first half of the season.

The two teams settled in for a pair of back-and-forth, tug-of-war sets to close out the night.  Set two featured 20 tie scores and 10 lead changes before NSU senior Kayla Ysteboe put down back-to-back kills to lift the Wolves to a 2-0 lead at the break.

Set three was more of the same, as the Golden Eagles nearly snuck one by the Wolves in regulation.  UMC held a 23-18 lead over the Wolves in the late going, before NSU mounted a furious rally sparked by a Whitney Morsching kill.  Another pair of back-to-back kills from Ysteboe brought the Wolves back to within one at 23-22, but UMC called a strategic time-out and managed to regain serve on a kill from Alexandra Skeeter.

NSU staved off UMC's first set point with another Aiono kill, then played through two match points of their own before capitalizing on two straight errors by the Golden Eagles to seal the victory.

Morsching led all players with her 11 kills on the night, while Ysteboe added nine and fellow senior Jordan Schaffer had eight.  Aiono also turned in a solid performance with five kills, nine digs and seven blocks.  Aiono was joined at the net by Schaffer, who finished with four blocks, and Ysteboe, who had three.  The trio combined to help keep UMC to just a 0.77 hitting percentage on the night.

The Wolves are back on the court tomorrow, taking on MSU Moorhead in another NSIC match-up.  NSU already owns a 3-1 win over the Dragons back on Sept. 10 in a non-conference meeting.  First serve for Saturday's rematch is set for 4 p.m.