Aberdeen, S.D. – The No. 3 Northern State University Wolves return home this weekend for a pair of Gypsy Days matches versus No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. The Wolves will face off against the Golden Bears at 6 p.m. on Friday and the Mavericks at 6 p.m. on Saturday from Wachs Arena.
 
Quick Hits on the Wolves
                • The Northern State Wolves opened the week moving to No. 3 in the AVCA Top-25 Poll after a 5-set loss to Minnesota Duluth last Saturday.
                • The Wolves currently sit second in the NSIC standings with a 6-1 record overall.
                • They are hitting .351 this season, averaging 14.8 kills, 13.9 assists, 16.0 digs, 1.9 aces, and 1.8 blocks per set.
                • Hailey Busch leads the team with 201 total kills, averaging 4.10 per set, while hitting .335, she is followed by Jenna Reiff with 150 kills, averaging 3.06 per set, and hitting a team high .463)
                • Ashley Rozell has dished out 616 total assists, averaging 12.57 per set, and leads the team with 35 aces.
                • Jaiden Langlie leads the defensive effort with 215 total digs, averaging 4.39 per set, and holds a .962 serve receive percentage.
                • Jenna Reiff also leads the team at the net with 46 total blocks, averaging just under one per set at 0.94.
                • Four Wolves find themselves in the top-15 nationally as Ashley Rozell leads the country averaging 0.71 aces per set and sits second averaging 12.57 assists per set, Jenna Reiff leads the nation hitting .463 on the year, followed by Morgan Baufield hitting .422 in seventh, and finally Hailey Busch is 15th in the country averaging 4.68 points per set.
                • As a team, NSU leads the country in hitting percentage (.352) and sits top-10 in assists per set (13.90), kills per set (14.80), and win-loss percentage (.933).
                • Northern has recorded more kills, assists, and digs, while also out-hitting their opponents in all 14 victories this season.
 
About the Golden Bears
                • Concordia-St. Paul enters the weekend sitting at No. 1 in the AVCA Top-25 Poll and with a 13-2 record overall and 7-0 mark in the NSIC.
                • The Golden Bears are hitting .270 on the year, averaging 14.9 kills, 14.2 assists, 17.3 digs, 1.7 aces, and 1.4 blocks per set.
                • Brooklyn Lewis leads the team with 227 kills, averaging 4.28 per set, while hitting a team high .376.
                • Elizabeth Mohr has dished out 687 assists, and leads the nation averaging 12.96 assists per set.
                • Tori Hanson leads the defense with 279 digs, averaging 5.26 per set, while Sara Macek leads the team at the net with 33 total blocks.
                • CSP leads the nation averaging 14.94 kills and 14.21 assists per set as a team.
                • Concordia is led by head coach Brady Starkey in his 16th season at the helm with a 499-49 record overall.
 
Last Match-up
                • The Wolves fell to the Golden Bears 3-0 and 3-2 in 2017 conference play.
                • Jenna Reiff led the team in the home loss with eight kills, while Hailey Busch grabbed 21 on the road.
                • The Wolves out-hit the Golden Bears .270-to-.241 in the 3-2 road loss.
                • NSU dropped the first two sets on the road, but battled back with 28-26 and 25-21 victories in sets three and four. 
                • Northern is 10-33 all-time against CSP, with their last victory coming in 2015.
 
About the Mavericks
                • Minnesota State enters the weekend with a 10-5 record overall and 3-4 in league play, after a 3-game slide with losses to Wayne State, Southwest Minnesota State, and Sioux Falls.
                • The Mavericks are hitting .259 as a team, averaging 13.5 kills, 13.0 assists, 14.0 digs, 1.7 aces, and 1.9 blocks per set this season.        
                • Morgan Olson leads the team with 243 kills, averaging 4.26 per set. She is also hitting a team leading .405.
                • Micayla Porter and Lauren Lowry have dished out 365 and 306 assists on the year.
                • Mara Quam leads the defense with 279 digs, averaging 4.89 per set, while Anissa Janzig leads the team at the net with 44 blocks.
                • Minnesota State is led by head coach Lori Rittenhouse-Wollmuth in her fourth season at the helm, and 14th season with the program overall.
 
Last Match-up
                • Northern tallied three sweeps over Minnesota State in 2017.
                • NSU combined for 127 total kills, averaging 14.1 kills per set, while hitting .304 as a team.
                • Defensively they held Minnesota State to a .140 hitting percentage through the three matches.
                • Ashley Rozell tallied 109 total assists, averaging 12.1 per set.
                • The Wolves are 10-14 all-time against the Mavericks winning the last three match-ups