Redemption

Northern State Defeats Wayne State 3-1 in NSIC Tournament 1st RD

St. Paul, Minn. – Northern State (15-15, 6-8) redeemed themselves against Wayne State (22-9, 10-4) as they knocked off the Wildcats in the first round of the NSIC Tournament 30-28, 30-26, 26-30, 30-26. The Wolves lost both regular season meetings against the Wildcats, including a match where they were up 2-0 in Aberdeen. The Wolves now advance to the NSIC Tournament Semi-Finals tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. against either #1 Concordia St. Paul or #8 Bemidji State.

The Wolves seniors did not want to see their season end, and played like it. Chelsey Deibert led the Wolves with 15 kills while Angie Aadahl had 12 kills and 30 digs. Luciola Figueroa had 11 kills and 15 digs, but it was Laura Nelson who had the game of her career as she had 11 kills, with no errors on 21 total attempts for a hitting percentage of .524. Junior Odemaris Diaz added 12 kills of her own in the match. Kellie Heier had 50 kill assists and 16 digs.

The Wolves out blocked the Wildcats 14 to 10 in the match with Diaz having four solo and two assists.

The Wolves only chance for regional play is to win the NSIC Tournament and earn the automatic bid. The Wolves, who are ranked 8 th in the latest regional poll, don’t not have a winning record in division II games (11-14) and would not qualify because of it.