Aberdeen, S.D. – It was scrappy match between the Wolves and the Vikings, with the No. 2 Northern State volleyball team coming away with a 3-1 victory. NSU defeated Augustana with set scores of 25-23, 25-22, 20-25, and 25-12, improving to 21-1 overall and 13-1 in the NSIC.
The Wolves offense struggled to find consistency in the first two sets, giving up 15 points on hitting errors alone. Northern however re-grouped and went on to hit a match high .324 in the fourth set where they went on a 12-0 run, taking a swift 17-2 lead over the Vikings. Augustana was unable to over-come the deficit which sealed the victory for the Wolves.
Northern combined for 58 kills, 86 digs, nine aces, and four blocks in the win, out-scoring the Vikings by 12.5 points. The Wolves averaged 21.5 digs per set, keeping the Vikings offense at bay and off the scoreboard. NSU tallied a .211 attack percentage in the win, while holding AU to a .147 hitting percentage on defense.
Laura Snyder led the team for the second straight match, hitting at a .471 clip. The sophomore also tallied a match high 18 kills, while adding two blocks, two digs, and one assist.
Hailey Busch was second on the team with 12 kills, followed by
Jenna Reiff and
Sally Gaul with ten apiece.
Morgan Baufield and
Ashley Rozell rounded out the team total with five and three kills respectively.
Rozell was potent from the service line, with six aces in the match, boosting her season total to 48. The junior added 52 assists, averaging 13.00 per set, as well as six digs and one block. Baufield, Reiff, and Snyder led the defense at the net with two blocks each in the match.
Jaiden Langlie was again invaluable to the NSU defense with a match high 29 digs, averaging 7.25 per set. She also tallied two assists in the win. Busch notched her eighth double-double of the season, with a team second best 19 digs, averaging 4.75 per set.
Lexi Boesl was the final Wolf in double figures with 13 digs, while
Alyssa Deobler tallied eight in her second appearance of the season.
Northern hits the road next weekend for a pair of matches at Sioux Falls and No. 11 Southwest Minnesota State. Game time is set for 6 p.m. on Friday versus the Cougars and 2 p.m. on Saturday against the Mustangs.
