Aberdeen, S.D. – The No. 7 Northern State University volleyball team will close out their home slate this Friday and Saturday versus No. 18 Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. Match times are set for 7 p.m. on Friday versus the Mustangs and 2 p.m. on Saturday against the Cougars.
 
QUICK HITS ON THE #7 NORTHERN STATE WOLVES
                • Northern State enters their final home games of the 2019 season with a 21-3 record overall and 14-2 mark in the NSIC
                • With four games remaining in the regular season, NSU is in a 3-way tie for first in the league standings with Minnesota Duluth and Concordia-St. Paul
                • The Wolves held at No. 7 in this week's AVCA Top-25 Poll and came in at No. 4 in the first NCAA Central Region Rankings of the season
                • NSU is a national second best .305 this season, averaging 14.8 kills, 13.7 assists, 15.9 digs, 2.1 blocks, and 1.3 service aces per set
                • They also rank third in the nation in kills per set and fifth in assists per set
                • Versus NSIC opponents, the Wolves lead the league in hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage, while sitting top-3 in assists per set, kills per set, total blocks, blocks per set, total digs, and digs per set
                • Laura Snyder leads the NSU offense with 350 total kills, averaging 4.17 per set, and hitting a team second best .368 this season
                • Peyton Ellingson leads the team hitting .404 with 144 kills and sits atop the NSIC averaging over 1.0 block per set
                • Ashley Rozell surpassed the 1000 season assist mark versus Minot State and currently has 1018, averaging a national top-5 mark of 12.12 per set
                • Jaiden Langlie leads the Wolves defense with 383 total digs, averaging 4.56 per set, and has a team high 33 aces which ranks her first in the NSIC versus league opponents
 
MATCHING UP WITH #18 THE MUSTANGS
                • Southwest Minnesota State heads to Aberdeen with a 14-10 record overall and 8-8 mark in the NSIC, currently fighting for one of the final spots in the conference tournament
                • The Mustangs are hitting .248 as a unit, averaging 14.9 kills, 14.1 assists, 15.6 digs, 1.8 blocks, and1.4 aces per set
                • Angela Young leads the team with 369 kills, averaging 4.19 kills per set, while Lydia Sussner is hitting a team leading .340 on the year
                • Emma Thomssen and Alisa Bengen have split the setting efforts this season with 633 and 434 assists respectively
                • Payton Hjerleid leads the defensive effort with 357 total digs, averaging 4.06 per set, while Zoe Lier leads the team at the net with 73 blocks, averaging 0.70 per set
                • Southwest Minnesota State is led by head coach Terry Culhane in his 16th season with the program
 
LAST MATCH-UP
                • The Wolves fell to the Mustangs in a 5-set heartbreaker on the road in late September
                • NSU notched a match high 63 kills, 59 assists, and 75 digs
                • Laura Snyder recorded a team best 24 kills, hitting .345 in the match
                • Northern is 10-59 all-time versus Southwest Minnesota State and 1-11 under the direction of Aldridge
 
MATCHING UP WITH THE COUGARS
                • Sioux Falls enters the weekend with a 14-10 record overall and 6-10 mark in the NSIC, sitting just behind the Mustangs in the league standings
                • The Cougars are hitting .221 on the year, averaging 13.2 kills, 11.8 assists, 15.6 digs, 1.7 blocks, and 1.7 aces per set
                • Kasandra Springer leads the offense with 282 kills, averaging 3.92 per set, and has a team high 41 service aces
                • Abby Feyereisen is close behind with 209 total kills, while leading the offense hitting .356
                • Krista Goerger has dished out 798 total assists, averaging 10.10 per set
                • Allie Maloney leads the Cougar defense with 324 total digs, averaging 4.26 per set, while Kenzie Byers leads the team at the net with 65 blocks, averaging 0.82 per set
                • Sioux Falls is led by head coach Joel McCartney in his eight season at the helm
 
LAST MATCH-UP
                • Northern defeated Sioux Falls 3-1 on the road earlier this season, hitting .331 as a team with 66 kills, 77 digs, and 11 blocks
                • Laura Snyder led the team with 21 kills, while Morgan Baufield hit a team high .538
                • Ashley Rozell averaged 13.25 assists per set in the win and Jaiden Langlie tallied a team leading 26 digs
                • The Wolves are 18-5 all-time versus the Cougars and 7-3 in the Aldridge-era