Aberdeen, S.D. - Matching up against their second Top-15 opponent in as many days, the No. 11 Northern State University volleyball team took down No. 4 Wayne State 3-1 from Wachs Arena. The Wolves improve to 11-2 overall and 3-1 in the NSIC, as well as 2-2 against ranked opponents.
The Wolves opened the match with a 25-17 set one victory, however fell to the Wildcats 25-18 in the second set. Northern returned from the locker room in sets three and four to hit a combined .316 with 34 kills, while the Wildcats struggled to answer back hitting just .192 with 25 kills. NSU took the third and fourth sets 25-19 and 25-23, after hitting a combined .222 in the match. The Wolves added 61 kills, 58 assists, 87 digs, nine blocks, and six aces, defeating Wayne State in 5-of-6 statistical categories.
Holly Vancura led the team with 16 kills, hitting .279. The junior also recorded a team second best 16 digs.
Tori Biach followed with 13 kills of her own, as well as a team leading .345 attack percentage. The senior made herself known on defense with four blocks and five digs.
Kellie Schmit and
Jenna Reiff notched 12 and ten kills respectively, while
Lauren McCafferty added nine. McCafferty and Schmit led the team with five blocks each.
Jaiden Langlie blew past her previous career high of 18, with 27 digs in the four set match. The freshman libero averaged 6.75 digs per set, and also recorded two service aces.
Annika van Oosbree and McCafferty each added 11 digs to the team total of 87, while
Ashley Rozell and
Amanda Tobin notched nine and seven respectively.
Rozell continued to be the playmaker for the Wolves with 56 assists. The Wolves ace averaged 14.0 assists per set, bringing her season mark to a league leading 12.62. Langlie tallied the team's final two assists in the win.
Northern will hit the road next Friday and Saturday for a pair of matches against No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. The Wolves will face-off against the Mustangs at 7 p.m. on Friday, and then travel for a 2 p.m. match against the Cougars on Saturday.
