Duluth, Minn. – In their first 5-set match of the 2018 season, the No. 1 Northern State volleyball team fell to No. 9 Minnesota Duluth. The Wolves took the first and fourth sets with scores of 25-23 and 25-22, but fell 25-17, 25-21, and 15-12 in the second, third, and fifth sets. With the loss the Wolves fall to 14-1 overall and 6-1 in the NSIC.
 
It was a tight match between the two teams, with the Wolves coming up just six points shy of the Bulldogs. Northern his .191 in the match, recording 68 kills, 65 assists, and a match high 87 digs. They tallied nine blocks and five aces. Duluth added just two more kills and hit .263 in the contest.
 
NSU made a comeback in the fifth set as they trailed 12-8 mid-way through. Northern went on a 4-1 run, bringing themselves within one of the hosts. Duluth was solid at the net all afternoon, and forced two attack errors to end the match.
 
Hailey Busch led three Wolves in double figures with 20 kills, averaging 4.0 per set. Laura Snyder followed with 16 of her own, and hit a team high .375, while Sally Gaul notched 16. Jenna Reiff added eight kills to the team total, while Morgan Baufield recorded six and Ashley Rozell notched four. Rozell dished out 57 total assists in the match, and led the team with three service aces. She also grabbed 14 digs.
 
Jaiden Langlie led the Wolves defense with a match high 27 digs, averaging 5.4 per set. Lexi Boesl and Bry Goar also tallied double-figures with 16 and ten digs respectively, while Busch added 12. Baufield and Reiff rounded out the team total with seven and one respectively. Reiff and Busch led the team at the net with five and four blocks each, while Baufield tallied three and Rozell and Snyder each grabbed two.  
 
Northern returns to Wachs Arena next Friday and Saturday for the annual Gypsy Days weekend. The Wolves will face off against No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul on Friday and Minnesota State on Saturday with both matches beginning at 6 p.m.