Wolves Fight To Stay Undefeated Against NCC
GRAND FORKS, ND - With one one win already under their belt at the UND Extreme Tournament, the Wolves (4-2) had to claw their way to a two hour, late night victory over South Dakota (1-5) Friday evening. Northern had defeated St. Cloud State (2-4) in a four game afternoon battle and the win against USD puts the 2006 team record against NCC schools at 2-0. The Wolves went 3-2 in NCC/NSIC interconference play last season.
Northern was sent down 20-30 in the first game of the USD match after hitting just .089. They managed to take the second game 30-28 with the same hitting percentage, but found themselves in a must-win situation after the Coyotes took game three. The team responded with their best offensive performance yet, swinging for 18 kills at a .255 clip. They went on to take the final two games of the match on their way to a fourth season victory.
Odemaris Diaz had 19 kills on the match, followed by Kelsey Aden with 13 and Jill Rasmussen with 12. The team posted a season high 13.5 team blocks, including five assists from Diaz and four assists each from Rasmussen and Heather Pudwill. Aden and Kellie Heier each put down two solo blocks and two block assists. Melanie Perez led the team with 28 digs.
The Wolves got wrapped up in a close four-game dogfight with the Huskies earlier in the day. NSU came out on top with a 3-1 victory, game scores of 30-27, 30-18, 29-31, 30-28. NSU answered SCSU's 14.5 team blocks with 99 digs, giving themselves more offensive opportunities to score. Emily Knaeble punched out 17 kills, while Aden, Rasmussen, and Diaz had 12 each. Perez racked up 35 digs on the match, followed by Jorgenson with 20 and Knaeble with 19. Aden was the leading force at the net with five total blocks (1 BS, 4 BA). NSU hit at a .194 clip while SCSU hit .156.
Northern State will return to action at the UND Extreme Tournament today as they take on North Dakota at 12 Noon and Minnesota State Mankato at 4:00 pm.
Northern State University (located in Aberdeen, SD) is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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