There was a full slate of Northern Athletics this past weekend, highlighted by a pair of sweeps from Wolves Volleyball.
The Wolves hit the road to take on University of Minnesota Crookston last Friday, defeating the Golden Eagles 25-16, 25-19, 25-18. Linnea Nesheim led the way with 14 kills, followed by 10-kill performances from Natalia Szybinska and Cara Cyr.
The following day the Wolves put away Minnesota State University Moorhead 25-16, 25-16, 25-12. Nesheim and Abby Brooks led the Wolves with 13 kills each. Following the weekend, Cyr led the NSIC with .556 attack percentage on the weekend, and Ava Nilsson led the way with 12.83 assists per set. Nilsson was awarded the NSIC Setter of the Week.
Wolves soccer secured its first win of the year with a 4-1 victory over MSU Moorhead. The Dragons struck first, but Chloe Voss responded with a goal 41 seconds later, her first on the year. From then on, it was all Wolves as Deshani Peters scored her first goal of the year in the 68th minute, followed by two goals from Jaylee Hofer as time expired in the 87th and 88th minutes.
On Sunday, the team traveled to Crookston to take on the Golden Eagles in a game that ended in a tie, despite NSU outshooting Crookston 15-4, with nine being on goal, compared to three for the Golden Eagles. Chloe Voss ended the weekend tied with the most shots per game at four.
The NSU cross country teams saw their first action of the season on Friday morning with the men’s and women’s teams competing in the Jimmie Invite at Jamestown, N.D.
The men’s squad took eighth, led by Jacob Angerhofer with a 63rd place finish. The women took sixth with three top 50 finishes: Emaleigh Olesiak in 22nd, Abby Hasart in 30th, and Jolie Dugan in 44th.
Wolves Swim and Dive took third this past weekend at the Marauder Invite. Jacie Flockhart was the lone gold place finish as she took first in the 1-meter 11 dive and 1-meter 6 dive. She also qualified for the national championships in March with her performance in the 1-meter 11 dive. The 200-yard freestyle team of Mazie Finch, Emma Machado, Sydney Rogers, and Ella Wanschura finished in third.
The three-game winning streak for Wolves football ended this past weekend at Bemidji as the Beavers won 24-21. Bemidji struck first, and the Wolves tied the game on the last play of the first half when Brock Bagozzi hit Louie Schwabe on a 35-yard Hail Mary pass.
Coming out of half, Bemidji regained its lead with a 40-yard field goal, which Trey Birdsong responded to with a 3-yard TD rush to give the Wolves their only lead of the game.
The Beavers scored 14 straight points until Wyatt Block found the endzone on a 1-yard run with 43 seconds left in the game to make it 24-21. The Wolves weren’t able to recover their onside kick and Bemidji knelt out the clock.
Bagozzi was the leading passer on the day, going 25-for-38 with 260 yards, with Block being the leading rusher with 108 yards on 21 carries. Jacoby Boykins was the leading receiver with six catches for 68 yards. On the defensive side, Cooper Logan led the way with 13 tackles and his first collegiate interception. Gabe Gutierrez finished the day with one and a half sacks.
Coming up this weekend in Northern Athletics, the cross country teams will compete at the Marauder Open in Bismarck, N.D. Both soccer and volleyball will be home this weekend, playing at 6 p.m. on Friday, with soccer taking on Sioux Falls, and volleyball taking on a 13-1 Minnesota Duluth, which is ranked 15th in the nation.
Volleyball will continue its home stand against Bemidji State on Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by Wolves Football taking on 10th ranked undefeated Minnesota Duluth under the lights at 6 p.m. Dacotah Bank Stadium.
Soccer caps the weekend taking the pitch on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Southwest Minnesota State.
