Aberdeen, S.D. – The No. 5 Northern State University Wolves will face off against No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State in the semifinal round of the NSIC Tournament tomorrow. Game time is set for 5 p.m. from Romano Gymnasium on the campus of Minnesota Duluth.
 
Quick Hits on the Wolves
                • The Northern State Wolves opened the week remaining at No. 5 in the AVCA Top-25 Poll.
                • After a 2-0 weekend in the regular season finales, the Wolves moved up one spot to No. 5 in the Central Region Rankings.
                • NSU recorded their first NSIC Conference Tournament victory since the 2013 season, on Tuesday night defeating Minnesota State 3-2 from Wachs Arena.
                • Ashley Rozell, Hailey Busch, Jenna Reiff, and Laura Snyder were named to the NSIC All-Conference first
team, while Jaiden Langlie earned second team honors a week ago.
                • Northern State head coach Brent Aldridge was also named the NSIC Coach of the Year, for the third time
in his eight seasons with the Wolves.
                • The Wolves are hitting a nation leading .304 as a team, averaging 14.4 kills, 13.6 assists, 16.8 digs, 1.8 blocks, and 1.5 aces per set.
                • Hailey Busch and Laura Snyder lead the team averaging 3.78 and 3.15 kills per set, while Snyder hitting a team high, and national top-10 mark of .388.
                • Morgan Baufield and Jenna Reiff have also been efficient this season hitting .386 and .385 respectively.
                • Ashley Rozell currently sits top-5 in the nation averaging 12.38 assists per set, while 1275 total assists. She is also top-5 in the country averaging 0.53 aces per set with 55 total aces.
                • Jaiden Langlie leads the Wolves defense with 460 digs, averaging 4.47 per set, and holds a .963 serve receive percentage.
                • Reiff and Baufield led the defensive effort at the net with 92 and 79 blocks respectively, averaging 0.89 and 0.77 per set.
 
About Southwest Minnesota State
                • The No. 9 Mustangs enter the match-up with a 3-0 win over Wayne State in the opening round and a 22-7 record overall.
                • SMSU currently sits eight in the NCAA Central Region Rankings, and finished the year third in the NSIC.
                • Southwest is hitting .271, averaging 14.6 kills, 13.8 assists, 18.0 digs, 1.9 blocks, and 1.4 aces per set.
                • The Mustangs concluded the regular season as the league leaders in total kills and assists, in matches against NSIC opponents.
                • Taylor Reiss was named the NSIC Player of the Year and leads the team with 623 kills, averaging 5.88 per set. She is also hitting a team high .313 this season.
                • Emma Thomssen sits in the top-5 nationally averaging 12.47 assists per set, with 1247 total assists.
                • Kaylee Burmeister leads the defense with 452 total digs, averaging 4.26 per set, with a .962 serve receive percentage.
                • Sarina Smith and Taylor Reiss led the net defense with 68 and 65 blocks respectively.
                • Southwest is led by head coach Terry Culhane in his 15th season at the helm.
 
Last Match-up
                • The Wolves fell to the Mustangs 3-0 on the road in NSIC play.
                • The NSU offense hit just .211 in the loss with 37 kills and 14 hitting errors, while the Mustangs hit .349 with 59 kills and 14 hitting errors.
                • Snyder was the lone Wolf in double figures with 15 kills, hitting a match high .609.
                • Taylor Reiss took the SMSU offense on her back with 29 kills and a .448 hitting percentage.
                • Northern is 9-55 all-time against the Mustangs.