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The Northern State volleyball team upset 10^th-ranked Wayne State in thrilling fashion Saturday evening as the Wolves came from behind to defeat the Wildcats in five sets. Set scores went 25-20, 23-25, 23-25, 25-13 and 15-10.

The Wolves, who picked up their first win over a ranked opponent this season, improve to 11-3 overall and 4-3 in the NSIC.

At the beginning of the match, the Wolves got off to a slow start, trailing in the opener 14-9. However, after a Northern timeout, the Wolves went on a 5-0 run to tie the set up at 14 apiece. The Wolves finished the first set on a tear as well, reeling off a 6-1 run to close out the set and take the early match lead.

After dropping the next two matches 25-23, the Wolves came out on fire in set number four as they dominated the fourth set, going on a 13-4 run at one point in the set to tie the match up at 2-2. The Wolves carried the momentum over into the fifth set as NSU jumped on Wayne early in the deciding set, taking an early 9-2 lead before holding on to grab the win and the upset.

Cari McGarvie led the Wolves' offense as she registered 14 kills in the win, McGarive also had one solo and three block assists Saturrday. Kelsey Chambers and Jussy Tuscherer each had 13 kills in the match. Tuscherer tied a career-best with those 13 kills and also set a new career-high with 14 digs in the match. Tuscherer now has her second double-double of the season and fourth consecutive match with double-digit digs. Chambers also racked up 12 digs to record her sixth double-double of the season and had four blocks.

Tori Biach had a great match for the Wolves as she tied a career-high with 11 digs and also led the Wolves with a career-best seven block assists in the win.

Macey Finizio and Sami Nygaard had a great night serving the ball as both led the team with three service aces. Nygaard also was huge in the back row as she set a new career-best with 27 digs in the match.

Setter Drew Smith set a new season-best mark with 53 assists on the night. Smith also tied a career-high with 17 digs in the match for her fourth double-double of 2013. Renee Hoffman added 12 digs of her own in the upset victory.

As a team, Northern hit .202 while holding Wayne State to just a .054 attack percentage. The Wolves also held an advantage in aces at 7-to-4 while also recording five more total blocks then the Wildcats (11-to-6).

Northern returns to action next weekend for another pair of home matches. The Wolves host Bemidji State Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. and Minnesota, Crookston at 5 p.m. on the 12^th.