Aberdeen, S.D. - The Northern State volleyball program rallied from an early 2-set deficit Saturday afternoon to defeat Minnesota State in five sets and secure an important late-season victory on the road. The Wolves defeated the Mavericks 22-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-21 and 15-8 in Mankato, Minn. The win comes on the heels of a straight-sets sweep of 10th-ranked Concordia-St. Paul on Friday and completes a weekend sweep for the Wolves.

QUICK HITS

• FINAL SCORE: Northern State 3, Minnesota State 2
• RECORDS: Northern State 17-9, 12-6 NSIC; Minnesota State 12-14, 7-11
• ATTENDANCE: 317

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Northern State got off to a slow start after a big win on Friday, hitting just .189 over the first two sets of Saturday's match.
• The Wolves recovered in the latter half of the match and had just nine errors at the net the rest of the way, including zero errors and 10 kills in 19 attempts in the decisive final set.
• Overall, Northern and Minnesota State were relatively even in overall statistics with the Mavericks holding a slight edge in kills, assists, digs and total points. But the Wolves, after getting on the board with a set three victory, were able to shut down the Mavericks' offense, forcing 17 Minnesota State hitting errors over the final three sets.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Sally Gaul: 15 kills, 4 blocks
• Havyn Heinz: 20 digs, 3 service aces
• Peyton Ellingson: 10 kills, 4 blocks, 2 service aces
• Keri Walker: 51 assists, 10 digs
• Natalia Szybinska: 14 kills

UP NEXT
Northern returns to Wachs Arena to face Winona State and Upper Iowa in the final weekend of regular season play. Winona State, Friday's opponent, is second in the NSIC standings, while the Wolves are tied with Upper Iowa for the fifth spot in the league standings. Friday's match is set for 6 p.m., while first serve against the Peacocks on Saturday is set for 3 p.m.