Box Score

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Northern State University volleyball squad rallied from a 1-0 deficit and a ???-point hole in the second set to take a 3-1 victory (19-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-20) over St. Cloud State University on Saturday afternoon in SCSU's Halenbeck Hall.  The victory snaps a two-game skid – both to nationally ranked top-10 teams – for the Wolves, who improve to 6-4 overall and 1-2 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.

SCSU slips to 5-5 overall and an even 1-1 in league action.

The Huskies set the tone in the opening set, rattling off five straight points to go up 10-5 and never looked back.  NSU closed to within 17-13, but would get no closer as the Huskies re-built their advantage to 21-14 on a pair of kills and a service ace.

SCSU again took an early lead in the second set, but watched the Wolves erase a 15-10 deficit with a 12-1 run that put NSU on top for the duration.  Senior Konefesi Vaisigano had three kills in that stretch, while junior Ella Campbell served up two aces.  The Huskies finally broke the run with an Ellie Dietzen kill, but the momentum had shifted squarely in favor of the Wolves, who closed out the set with a Claire Kopfmann kill and a Husky attacking error to even the match at a set apiece.

NSU came out of the break and led from the start in the third set.  The Wolves again led early in the fourth, but watched the Huskies come back to tie things up at 10-all.  SCSU stuck around until a 6-1 run late allowed the Wolves to pull away from an 18-17 lead to force their first set- and match-point.  The Huskies fended off the first two NSU attempts to put the match away, but could not escape the third, as a Carli Peterson kill put the Wolves back in the win column for the first time since last Saturday.

The Wolves featured a balanced offensive attack with five players finishing the match with eight or more kills under the guidance of freshman setter Morgan Richardson.  Sophomore Paula Martins led the pack with ten, while Vaisigano added nine.  Seniors Kaili Aiono, Claire Kopfmann and redshirt freshman Carli Peterson each finished with eight.  Richardson posted 41 assists and four kills in the win.

SCSU was paced at the net by Dietzen's 12 total kills.  Lauren Clipperly added ten kills and matched teammate Chelsea Nagle and NSU's Aiono for match-high dig honors with 16.

NSU remains on the road next weekend to take on Wayne State on Friday and Augustana on Saturday in another weekend of NSIC play.  Friday's match is set for 7 p.m. against the Wildcats, while Saturday's action tips off at 3 p.m. in Sioux Falls.