Northern State shook off a sluggish start and picked up a key conference volleyball victory Friday night.

The Wolves dropped the opening set before taking control on the way to a 19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-22 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference win over over Bemidji State at Wachs Arena.

“It was a rough start,” said Northern outside hitter Katelyn Schroeder. “That team, Bemidji, they travel so well. I think their record away is better than their record at home.”

The Beavers hit the floor ready to go and soon bolted out to an 11-5 advantage. NSU was not able to make a serious challenge after that falling in the first set.

“I’ve watched a bunch of video,” said Northern coach Brent Aldridge. “They come out ready to play. They got some mismatches on us.”

The early stages of the second set remained tight before the Wolves eventually got their teeth into the match and played with a lead the rest of the way.

“We had a little bit of nervous jitters, I think,” said Northern’s Lydia Nelson, “but after that first set we kind of locked in a little more and focused more, and we realized what we had to do.”

Schroeder, who finished with a match-high 21 kills, jump started the NSU offense with three straight kills early in the second set to give the Wolves a lead they never lost.

The sophomore was a force all match long and helped to propel the hosts to a dominant third set win as well. She was quick to point out her teammates for her performance.

“I think we just played really good as a whole. I’m just grateful that my middles can pull blocks for me. I give them all the credit,” Schroeder said. “I wouldn’t be able to put a ball on the floor if it weren’t for my setter, my middles, my passers.”

Ava Nilsson dished out 46 set assists in the match.

Northern jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the fourth set, but Bemidji wasn’t done. The Beavers clawed back to tie the score at 19-19. Schroeder then provided a kill and an ace to help push the Wolves across the finish line.

“I said we’ve got to have effective serving,” Aldridge said, “and she hit that ace, and I’m like well, that’s pretty effective.”

Schroeder said the goal when she went back to serve was to try to finish off the match in four.

“I kind of just went back there and I didn’t want to go to five sets,” Schroeder said. “None of us wanted to go to five sets, so really just keying in on what the coach says to serve and who to serve, and just driving it in the court is huge.”

Schroeder had a bit of extra motivation on the evening. Members of the Hitchcock-Tulare team were in attendance to cheer on their former teammate.

“The whole volleyball team, that was really cool. … That was in the back of my head the whole time, I can’t lie,” Schroeder said.

Nelson said the Wolves have a tendency to finish matches strong and that was the case against Bemidji.

“We all ended on a high and I feel like that’s what we’re really good at,” Nelson said. “Even if we don’t start the best, we know how to flip it around and end high instead of ending lower.”

Nelson finished with seven kills in the contest.

“I just know that my team’s got my back and I feel blessed to even be here,” Nelson said, “so I’m just going to take full advantage of every opportunity I get.”

The win was a key one as the Wolves are fighting for the right to able to host a first-round match in the upcoming NSIC postseason tournament. Northern has three regular-season matches remaining, including a big one against Minnesota Duluth at 1 this afternoon at Wachs Arena.

“The pressure is defintiley on. It’s always been on,” Nelson said. “It’s just a good atmosphere. I like this pressure and I like the atmosphere here.”

The Wolves are 18-7 overall and 13-4 in the NSIC. They are in a battle with Duluth, among others, for the chance to host a match in the playoffs.

“All you can do is put yourself in the right position,” said Aldridge, who picked up his 300th career win with the Wolves earlier in the week at Minot State. “Hopefully we do a good job and come out of this with a sweep on the weekend. We certainly need it. Regionally we need it. We want to host the first round of conference.”

Today’s match will be senior day. The Wolves would like to help ensure it’s not the last home match for three seniors on the squad.

The Bulldogs swept Northern earlier this season, so the task will not be an easy one.

“Duluth is always good, so it’s going to be a challenge for sure,” Nelson said, “but that’s what we signed up for, and that’s what we’re here for.”

To see a complete box score of the Bemidji match, click on the following link:

https://nsuwolves.com/volleyball/2026/boxscore/vs-bemidji-state/14682/pdf