Aberdeen, S.D. – The Northern State University volleyball team will hit the road this Friday and Saturday for a pair of NSIC contests with No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. The No. 11 Wolves will open the weekend in Marshall on Friday with a 7 p.m. match against the Mustangs, followed by a 2 p.m. Saturday contest with the Cougars in Sioux Falls.
 
The Wolves enter the road weekend with an 11-2 record overall and 4-1 mark in league action. Northern is hitting .264 as a unit, while averaging 13.8 kills, 13.3 assists, 16.9 digs, 1.5 aces, and 2.1 blocks per set in 2016. Holly Vancura leads NSU with 153 kills this season, hitting .266. Senior Tori Biach is hitting a league fifth best of .410 with 122 total kills. She is also leading the Wolves, alongside Kellie Schmit with 45 blocks. Schmit is hitting a team second best .282 this season with 122 kills of her own. Defensively the Wolves are led by Vancura with 167 digs, followed by Annika van Oosbree and Jaiden Langlie with 155 and 140 respectively. Ashley Rozell has open her freshman campaign with 593 assists, averaging a national best of 12.62 assists per set.
 
About the Mustangs
- Southwest Minnesota State is 10-3 overall and 4-1 in league action this season, after earning the No. 4 spot in this week's AVCA Top-25 Poll
- The Mustangs are hitting .320 on the year, averaging 14.8 kills, 13.8 assists, 16.1 digs, 1.5 aces, and 2.2 blocks per set
- Taylor Reiss leads the team with 236 kills, averaging a league best 5.13. She is also hitting .326 this season
- Eisha Oden is third in the league, hitting at a .428 clip with 135 total kills and just 31 errors
- Amber Messner leads the SMSU defense with 203 digs, landing her eighth in the league averaging 4.41 per set
- Megan Larson has paced the Mustang offense with 566 assists this season, averaging a league and national third best of 12.30 per set
- SMSU is led by head coach Terry Culhane in his 13^th season at the helm. Culhane holds a career record of 312-87 with the Mustangs
 
A Season Ago
- Northern fell to Southwest 3-2 on the road in 2015 with set scores of 14-25, 25-21, 25-22, 20-25 12-15
- The two teams were even with ten blocks apiece, however SMSU hit .310 to the Wolves mark of .256
- Kelsey Chambers and Cari McGarvie were the lone Wolves in double-digit kills with 21 and 17 respectively
 
About the Cougars
- Sioux Falls enters the weekend with an 8-5 record overall and 2-3 record in league action
- The Cougars are hitting .235 this season, averaging 12.7 kills, 11.8 assists, 12.7 digs, 1.5 aces, and 2.4 blocks per set
- Makenna Rockeman leads the team with 183 kills, hitting .202, while Lexi Smith is hitting a team leading .377
- Sydney Schaap is averaging 9.21 assists per set, with 387 total this season
- Rockeman also leads the USF defense with 90 digs, while Jordan Calef has tallied a team leading 59 blocks
- The Cougars are led by head coach Joel McCartney in his sixth season with the program. McCartney has a career record of 86-90 with USF, and 433-248 record overall
 
A Season Ago
- The Wolves defeated the Cougars 3-2 in 2015 with set scores of 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12
- Tori Biach led the NSU returners with 17 kills, while Mandy Kurosky notched 16 kills and hit a team high .326
- Northern hit .241 as a team and notched 83 digs