The Northern State volleyball team has gone unbeaten in its pre-conference matches is now ranked among the top 25 teams in NCAA Division II. The Wolves are currently ranked 24th after previously receiving votes.
“That’s one of the things the girls wanted. To get back in that top 25,” said NSU coach Brent Aldridge. “It takes a lot of work to do it. So they put the work in. … You got to perform though, daily.”
The Wolves improved to 8-0 on the season with four more victories this past weekend at the Parkside Invitational in Kenosha, Wis.
“I like the work we put in. And it wasn’t an easy schedule,” Aldridge said. “I think we performed pretty close to our standard that we like to hit. Usually when you do that, when you have a standard that you want to be at, there’s a reason for it. And we hit it.”
The Wolves defeated Ohio Dominican in four sets and swept the host school last Friday. Morissen Samuels ended the day with 25 kills, with Natalia Szybinska followed with 24. Keri Walker finished with 79 assists, 26 digs, three aces, and a couple kills.
On Saturday, the Wolves swept Lake Erie, and a took a four-set win over Wayne State (Mich.). Victoria Persha tied the record for most assisted blocks in Northern State history with 10 against Wayne State. Five Wolves had double digit kills on the day. Reese Johnson led the way at the service line with eight aces in the two games. Walker had 86 assists and four aces.
“Vic is not the biggest person in the world, but she did a really good job,” Aldridge said. “And that’s what you actually need. You need people to not overperform, but really to perform to what you hope they could.”
NSU soccer ended the non-conference portion of its schedule 1-2-1 going 1-1 last weekend. The Wolves lost to Emporia 3-1 and defeated Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foe Minnesota Duluth 2-0 in a non-conference game.
The Wolves struck first against Emporia on a Lauren Youngquist goal assisted by Ella Blake nearing the 11th minute mark. Emporia answered back in the 26th minute leaving the score tied going into halftime. Emporia found the goal twice more in the second half at the 48th and 87th minutes securing the victory.
The Wolves bounced back at home against Duluth. Megan Fastenau scored first in the 12th minute assisted by Sophie Taylor, who later found the goal herself in the 66th minute being assisted by Eva Larson. Elinor Sayers pitched a shutout in goal with six saves.
The football team fell to Minot State in its homecoming game. Minot scored first on a 23-yard field goal. The Wolves answered back with the only score in the second quarter on a 11-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Britt to Tanner Branson, the first for both. Minot added another field goal, before Britt extended the NSU lead to 14-6 on a 38-yard run. Minot tied the game on the last play of the third quarter with a touchdown and a two-point conversion. The Beavers then recovered a fumble midway through the fourth quarter and took more than six minutes off the clock before kicking the game winning field goal with 1:46 left. Jake Adams led the NSU defensive effort with 20 total tackles, the second most all-time in Northern State history.
Coming up this week, NSU cross country will compete at the Roy Griak on Friday, and both soccer and volleyball open up conference action at home at 6 p.m. on Friday. Soccer takes on Moorhead and volleyball will meet Sioux Falls. On Saturday, football plays at 19th-ranked Augustana for the Vikings’ home opener. Volleyball will close out the weekend at home with eighth-ranked Wayne State at 3 p.m., and Wolves soccer will travel to Minot State on Sunday.
