Northern State gained some momentum for Gypsy Days Weekend by defeating Winona State in football last Saturday 30-24 at Dacotah Bank Stadium with a big fourth quarter. Jeremy Caruso kicked a 36-yard field goal on the opening drive of the game. The Warriors followed up with a touchdown followed by a Hank Kraft rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown from Daniel Britt to Ty Wiley on a fourth-down conversion to give NSU a 17-7 halftime lead.

Winona scored 14 unanswered points in the third period before Colton Hackel found Tanner Branson in the end zone as NSU regained the lead. Wyatt Block made it a two-possession game with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Britt was 9 for 12 with 94 yards passing and a touchdown. Colton Hackel completed both passes he threw for 41 yards and a TD. Block led the way on the ground with 89 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. Wiley led in receiving yards with 6 catches for 57 yards and a touchdown, followed by former Pierre Governor, Cade Kaiser, with 3 catches for 55 yards. On the defensive side, Jake Adams had another 15-tackle game totaling 66 tackles on the year, second in NCAA Division II. Luke Gunderson secured an interception, and Lynden Williams forced and recovered a fumble.

Wolves volleyball is still ranked 22nd in the nation after a split weekend, falling to the fourth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs in five sets, and defeating Augustana in five sets.

Against the Mustangs, the Wolves won the first two sets 25-21, 29-27, and dropped the next three, 25-19, 25-16, 15-11. Natalia Szybinska led the Wolves with 15 kills followed by Abby Brooks with 11, and Hanna Thompson with 10. Keri Walker and Reece Johnson served up two aces. Defensively, Brooks, Victoria Persha, and Morissen Samuels each had five assisted blocks.

The Wolves found themselves in another tight match at Augustana winning the first set 25-20, dropping the second and third sets 25-23, 25-17, and closing out the match taking the last two sets 25-20 and 15-8. Hanna Thompson led the team with 15 kills, followed by Szybinska with 13, and Brooks with 12. Johnson and Persha served up three aces, and Persha and Brooks tallied six assisted blocks each.

Wolves soccer also split the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Concordia-St. Paul and a 2-1 loss to Winona State. Against the Golden Bears, Eva Larson scored first in the 35th minute assisted by Deshani Peters and Jaylee Hofer. Megan Fastenau found the goal for the third time this year on a free kick in the 56th minute. Alexus Townsend recorded a save on only two shots on goal.

Against the Warriors all three goals were scored within 28 minutes of the first half. The Warriors found the goal first in the 13th minute. Megan Fastenau scored the only goal for the Wolves in the 19th minute assisted by Lauren Youngquist. Winona State closed it out in the 27th minute. Elinor Sayers recorded three saves on five shots on goal.

Northern State swimmers jumped in the pool the first time this year with a Relay Meet last Friday, and a dual against Mary and Southwest Minnesota State last Saturday. The Wolves finished third with 12 top 3 finishes. Jacie Flockhart was named as the NSIC Diver of the Week.

The swim team kicked off Homecoming Week taking on Jamestown at the Aberdeen YMCA last night. The Wolves defeated the Jimmies 121 to 117. Flockhart won the 1m dive with a final score of 244.50. Abbey Nynas took first in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 11:23.69. Other first place finishes included: Haley Osbourne in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, and Laila Gordillo in the 100 freestyle.

Homecoming Week continues Friday with a home volleyball match against Minnesota State and a home soccer match against Sioux Falls, both at 6 p.m.

Cross country teams will compete at the Jimmy Invite in Jamestown, N.D. Friday, before returning home for the Steps for Shep meet at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Wolves football will take on the Bemidji State Beavers, 4-1 on the year. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Homecoming Weekend will close out with Wolves soccer hosting Wayne State (Neb.) at 1 p.m. Sunday.