WAYNE, Neb. – The end result was the same, but it looked much different on Tuesday night.
Just like last Saturday, Northern State fell in a four-set match to second-rated Wayne State, but this time the Wolves had some chances in the 20-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21 setback in the opening round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Volleyball Tournament.
“We played way better than we did on Saturday,” said NSU coach Brent Aldridge. “It’s nice to see that from our kids.”
Aldridge made a lineup change to try and get better matchups along the front row.
“We made a couple lineup changes, and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t,” Aldridge said.
The Wolves flipped Natalia Szybinska to the right side, moved Katelyn Schroeder to the left, and put Alex Connaster in the middle.
“We flipped Nat over on the right side, trying to get a little more size,” Aldridge said. “They set their two outsides 104 times. It was survive and advance. Kudos to them. I thought we played a heullva match.”
The Wolves went on a 9-0 run in the opening set to turn a one-point deficit into a 19-11 lead. Ava Nilsson sparked the surge with her serving.
“Ava Nilsson kind of got going with her serve a little bit,” Aldridge said. “I thought she set a great match.”
Nilsson finished with 47 set assists.
After falling in the second set, the Wolves were right on the door step of taking the pivotal third set. However, with the score tied at 22-22, Northern served a ball into the net, while Wayne recorded an ace, and soon the set was gone.
“I thought we played really hard and I thought we were in control of some sets,” Aldridge said. “They were just one and two points better at the end of the set than we were.”
And Wayne, which improved to 12-0 at home this season, scored those two crucial points without even a rally.
“They didn’t have much to much right there on a couple,” Aldridge said, “and that’s unfortunate.”
Katelyn Schroeder topped the Northern offense with 16 kills.
The Wolves concluded the season with a 19-10 record.
“We knew what was at stake,” Aldridge said. “It was either you win or you’re done, basically.”
To see a complete box score, click on the following link:
https://nsuwolves.com/sports/womens-volleyball/stats/2025/wayne-state/boxscore/14605
