Aberdeen, S.D. – The Northern State University volleyball team will return home this Friday and Saturday for a pair of NSIC contests against Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. The Wolves will open the weekend with a 7 p.m. match-up on Friday versus the Golden Eagles, and return to Wachs Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m. against the Beavers.
The No. 14 Wolves return to the friendly confines of Wachs Arena after a 0-2 weekend on the road, which moved them to 11-4 overall and 4-3 in league action. They will look to bounce back and improve on their struggles offensively from a weekend ago. Currently, NSU is hitting .248 as a team, averaging 13.3 kills, 12.8 assists, 16.3 digs, 1.4 aces, and 2.0 blocks per set.
Holly Vancura leads the team with 171 kills this season, averaging 3.71 per set.
Tori Biach has a team third best 135 kills, and is leading Northern hitting .396 in 54 sets played.
Ashley Rozell is closing in on 700 assist in 2016, with 654 total. The freshman is averaging 12.11 assists per set, which is a league third best mark. On defense, Vancura leads the team with 185 digs, while Biach is averaging nearly one block a set with 52 this season.
About Minnesota Crookston
- The Golden Eagles enter the weekend with a 6-9 record overall, and 2-5 mark in league action with their NSIC victories coming against Bemidji State and Minnesota State
- Minnesota Crookston is hitting .168 as a team, averaging 11.5 kills, 10.6 assists, 13.9 digs, 2.0 aces, and 1.4 blocks per set
- Maggie Perrel leads the team with 166 kills, while Kelci Green is hitting a team leading .318
- Sierra Trost has recorded 476 assists this season, averaging 9.33 per set
- Ali Schueler leads the Golden Eagle defense with 176 digs, while Kelci Green has a team leading 28 blocks
- UMC is led by head coach Lee Anderson in his ninth season with the program. Anderson has a career record of 93-240
Last Season
- The Wolves went 2-0 versus the Golden Eagles in 2015, taking both matches with a score of 3-0
- In the first match-up of the season, Northern hit .430 and held Minnesota Crookston to a mark of .038
-
Tori Biach knocked down a team second best 12 kills, as the Wolves tallied 46 in the win
- In the match two victory, Northern hit .333 with 47 kills, while the Golden Eagles hit .152 with 29 kills and 15 errors
About Bemidji State
- The Beavers enter the weekend with a 5-11 record overall and 1-6 mark in NSIC action with their lone conference victory coming against St. Cloud State
- Bemidji State is hitting .189 as a team, while averaging 11.1 kills, 10.1 assists, 13.2 digs, 1.6 aces, and 1.8 blocks per set
- Jessica Yost leads the team with 207 kills and a .243 attack percentage. She is also leading the defense with 159 total digs and 30 blocks
- Shelby Haney has 307 assists this season, averaging 5.48 per set, while Jordyn Koehn has 187 assists, averaging 4.16 per set
- BSU is led by head coach Kevin Ulmer in his first season at the helm
Last Season
- Northern swept the Beavers in two matches of straight set victories in 2015
- On the road, NSU tallied 40 kills and hit .237, while the Beavers recorded 25 kills and hit .071
- In the match two win, the Wolves hit .484 with 49 kills and just five errors, while BSU hit .165 with 34 kills and 16 errors
