Marshall, Minn. – It was a career night for senior setter Drew Smith, however the NSU volleyball team was unable to come away with the victory. Early in the second set Smith tallied her 15^th assist of the match giving her 4,415 career assists to capture the school record. Drew finished with 53 total on the night. The loss 3-2 loss to No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State is the Wolves first of 2015. Northern drops to 21-1 overall and 13-1 in league action, however holds on to the top spot in the NSIC.
 
The two team's battled throughout the match, however the Mustangs were able to slip away with the victory. Southwest opened with a 25-14 set one victory, before Northern fought back in sets two and three to capture the 2-1 match led. The match went to five after a 25-20 SMSU fourth set win, and the Mustangs ultimately took the final set 15-12.
 
The Wolves hit .256 in the match and tallied 62 kills, while SMSU record a hitting percentage of .310 with 73 kills. The two teams were equal with ten blocks, while the Mustangs edged out the Wolves in kills, assists, aces and digs.
 
Kelsey Chambers and Cari McGarvie fought for the Wolves recording 21 and 17 kills respectively. Chambers added another double-double to her season total with a team second best 15 digs, and hit a team leading .452 in the loss. Mandy Kurosky recorded nine kills and only one attack error, while Kellie Schmit and Tori Biach each notched seven kills.
 
Renee Hoffman led the NSU defense with 18 digs, followed by defensive specialist Amanda Tobin with 10. Kellie Schmit led the NSU blocking effort in the match with one solo block and five assists. McGarvie, Biach, and Kurosky each recorded four block assists adding to the team total.
 
No. 2 Northern State will look to bounce back next weekend at home against T-No. 6 Wayne State and No. 21 Augustana. Just three weeks of NSIC regular season action remain for the Wolves.