Aberdeen, S.D. – The No. 7 Northern State University volleyball team heads south to Springfield, Missouri for the Drury Invitational this weekend. The Wolves will face off against No. 18 Northwest Missouri State and (RV) Drury at 1 and 7 p.m. on Friday, and Truman State and Missouri Western at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
 
QUICK HITS ON THE WOLVES

• Northern State enters their final week of non-conference play with a 4-0 record
• The Wolves moved up one spot to No. 7 overall in the AVCA Top-25 Poll this week
• Through four games, NSU is hitting .351 as a team and averaging 15.2 kills, 14.7 assists, 13.9 digs, 1.1 aces, and 1.8 blocks per game
• NSU hit a season high .432 versus Colorado Mesa and racked up over 60 kills against Colorado Mines
• Laura Snyder leads the team with 55 kills, averaging 4.23 per set, and a .441 attack percentage
• The junior was named the Colorado Mines Oredigger Classic MVP and the NSIC Offensive Player of the week
• Ashley Rozell paced the Wolves offense and dished out 170 assists, averaging 13.08 per set which ranks third in the nation, while also leading the team with five aces
• The setter earned Oredigger Classic All-Tournament team honors and was named the NSIC Setter of the Week
• Sally Gaul also made her way onto the All-Tournament team with 49 kills and a .364 attack percentage last weekend
• Jaiden Langlie led the NSU defense with 49 total digs, averaging 3.77 per set, while Peyton Ellingson and Morgan Baufield each recorded 11.0 blocks
• Northern sits top-5 nationally in assists per set, hitting percentage, and kills per set

 
ABOUT NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE

• The Bearcats enter the weekend with a 4-0 record, notching wins over Central Washington, Quincy, William Jewel, and Drury last weekend
• Northwest moved up to No. 18 in the AVCA Top-25 Poll this week
• NWMSU is hitting .275 this season, averaging 14.2 kills, 12.7 assists, 15.0 digs, 1.3 aces, and 1.7 blocks per set
• Hallie Sidney leads the offense with 62 kills, averaging 4.13 per set, while Bethany Elkins is hitting a team high .403 with 41 kills
• Maddy Ahrens has 169 total assists, averaging 11.27 per set
• Sidney also leads the defense with 40 digs, followed by Rachel Sturdevant and Jaden Ferguson with 39 and 38 digs respectively
• Morgan Lewis and Elkins lead the team at the net with 13 and 12 blocks respectively thus far
• The Bearcats are led by head coach Amy Woerth in her eighth season at the helm

 
LAST MATCH-UP

• The Wolves defeated the Bearcats 3-0 in 2015
• NSU hit .433 in the match with 43 kills and just four attack errors, holding NWMSU to a .010 hitting percentage with 21 kills and 20 hitting errors
• Northern is 3-1 all-time versus Northwest Missouri State with contests in 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015

 
ABOUT DRURY

• The Panthers enter the weekend with a 1-4 record overall, recording a win over Texas Woman's
• DU dropped out of the No. 18 spot in the AVCA Top-25 Preseason Poll, but is receiving votes this week
• The Panthers are hitting .162 this season, averaging 11.6 kills, 10.7 assists, 14.2 digs, 1.2 aces, and 2.1 blocks per set
• Julia McCown leads the offense with 72 kills, averaging 3.13 per set, and hitting a team high .238
• Reba Thomsen has 201 total assists this season as the team's primary setter
• Katie Gorman leads the defense with 80 digs, while Makina Wratten has 30.0 total blocks, which ranks her second nationally
• Drury is led by head coach Jenifer Bahner in her sixth season with the program

 
LAST MATCH-UP

• The Wolves defeated the Panthers 3-0 and capped off a perfect 4-0 weekend from the Drury Invitational back in 2013
• NSU took home the match with set scores of 25-22, 25-16, and 25-18
• Northern is 1-0 all-time against Drury after the 3-0 victory in 2013

 
ABOUT TRUMAN STATE

• The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a 2-2 record overall, notching wins over Puerto Rico-Mayaguez and Shaw University
• Truman is hitting .167 this season, averaging 10.6 kills, 10.0 assists, 17.8 digs, 1.4 aces, and 1.2 blocks per set
• Morgan Smith leads the offense with 56 kills, averaging 3.29 per set, while Jocelynn Livingston is hitting a team best .288
• Elise Hardesty has dished out 138 total assists and is one of five Bulldogs with three service aces this season
• Sam Yancy and Meghan Gasper lead the defense with 44 and 39 digs respectively, while Ambria Whitlock leads the team at the net with nine blocks
• TSU is led by head coach Ben Briney in his tenth season as head coach and 14^th overall with the program

 
LAST MATCH-UP

• The Wolves defeated the Bulldogs 3-0 and 3-1 back in 2016 from the Concordia-St. Paul Tournament
• Ashley Rozell dished out 37 assists in the game one victory, as NSU hit .306 as a team
• Jenna Reiff led the Wolves in game two with 15 kills, while Rozell tallied 53 assists and Jaiden Langlie notched seven digs
• Northern is 1-1 all-time versus Truman State

 
ABOUT MISSOURI WESTERN

• The Griffons enter the weekend with a 4-0 record notching wins over Southwest Baptist, East Central, Western Colorado, and Midwestern State last weekend
• MWSU is hitting .269 as a team, averaging 13.9 kills, 12.3 assists, 15.3 digs, 2.4 aces, and 1.2 blocks per set this season
• Ali Tauchen leads the offense with 49 kills, averaging 3.50 per set, and a .350 attack percentage
• Lauren Murphy has 143 assists, averaging just over 10.0 per set, as well as 17 kills
• Tiana Butler leads the defensive effort with 77 total digs, averaging 5.5 per set
• The Griffons are led by head coach Marian Carbin in her sixth season at the helm

 
LAST MATCH-UP

• Northern State fell in straight sets to Missouri Western at home in 2012
• The Griffons took the close match with set scores of 25-22, 25-23, and 26-24
• The Wolves are 0-1 all-time versus the Griffons after the loss in 2012