Kearney, Neb. – The season ended on Thursday afternoon for the No. 6 Northern State University volleyball team as they fell to No. 8 Washburn in the opening round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The Wolves finish the year as the single season school record holders with 26 wins.
 
Washburn took the first set 25-9, however the Wolves sharpened things up and bounced back for 25-23 and 25-21 victories in the second and third. The fourth set went down to the wire, with Northern falling 25-23. The Wolves had the match in the grasp with an 8-6 lead in the fifth, but things slipped away late in the set, as they dropped it with a score of 15-12.
 
The Wolves hit .172 in the match, notching 58 kills, 55 assists, 74 digs, 18.0 blocks, and two aces. NSU hit match highs .353 and .333 in the second and third sets, and more than doubled the Ichabod's block total.
 
Hailey Busch led the team with 20 kills, averaging 4.00 per set. She was followed by freshman Sally Gaul with a career high 18 kills in the match. Gaul also led the team hitting at .350 clip. She was a spark for the Wolves in the later sets, recording eight of the team's 17 kills in the fourth. The pair combined for 38 of the team's 58 kills in the loss.
 
Jenna Reiff and Laura Snyder added seven kills apiece, while Morgan Baufield notched five and Ashley Rozell added one. Rozell tallied 46 total assists, bringing her season total to a school record 1375. She also added a team high two aces, as well as five blocks and 12 digs.
 
Jaiden Langlie led five Wolves with double figure digs, notching 19 in the match. She was followed by Busch with 13, and Bry Goar and Lexi Boesl with 12 and 11 respectively. Baufield led the team at the net with nine blocks, while Reiff tallied eight. Gaul added five blocks of her own, and Busch and Snyder each recorded four.
 
The Wolves conclude the season with a 26-5 record overall with numerous milestones reached. NSU won the first conference championship in program history, named five to the All-NSIC teams, and was led by the NSIC Coach of the Year, Brent Aldridge. Northern State seniors Hailey Busch, Lexi Lockhart, and Alyssa Deobler wore the Wolves uniform for the final time in their careers, after leading the program to new heights.