MARSHALL, Minn. – After a pair of near misses, Northern State came out focused, determined and in the end victorious Tuesday night.

The Wolves, who had lost back-to-back five-set volleyball matches to Southwest Minnesota State, defeated the Mustangs on their home court in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament. Northern was tough under fire in a 25-19, 20-25, 25-15, 25-20 win.

“I thought our ball control was better,” said Northern coach Brent Aldridge. “We had ups and downs, but when we were good, we were really good.”

After splitting the opening sets, Northern trailed 16-13 in the third set before taking control, finishing the set on a 12-2 surge.

The fourth set was tight was well and the Wolves trailed 17-15 before another strong flurry to close out the set and the match with a 10-3 run.

“When we needed some plays to be made, we made some consecutively,” Aldridge said. “That hasn’t always happened, but we definitely made some pretty nice adjustments and plays.”

As a result, the Wolves not only avenged a pair of regular-season losses to Southwest, but also rewarded Aldridge with his first career win in Marshall in his 14 years with the NSU program.

Northern topped the Mustangs is nearly every statistical category en route to the win.

“We had 12 blocks to their six and they’re pretty big and physical,” Aldridge said. “We outdug them, outblocked them, outhit them, we had more aces, serve receive was a big thing.”

Natalia Szybinska led the Wolves with 20 kills, Hanna Thompson followed with 15, and Morrisen Samuels contributed 13.

Aldridge said the Wolves will need a bit more out the middle when they take on top-seeded St. Cloud State on Saturday in the semifinals of the NSIC tourney.

“We’ve got to get that squared away, because that’s a little easier to go attack your pins,” Aldridge said, “so we have to get our middle going a little bit, plus short notice.”

The trilogy against Southwest this season reminded Aldridge of a similar situation the first time he qualified for the NCAA Tournament. That year Northern lost to Augustana twice during the season before sweeping the Vikings in the postseason.

“It’s been on my mind a little bit about beating people three times,” Aldridge said. “You can do it, but it’s hard to do. I’m proud of this group. They were good.”

The Wolves, 21-6 on the season, will now face a Huskies team that swept them back in October and features the National Player of the Year in Kenzie Foley.

“We clearly gotta control Foley, just a little bit. … They’re good. They’re very balanced. We’ve got to test some people and slow them down, and then just do what we’ve been doing,” Aldridge said, “getting a little better offensively, but we got to get our quick involved, because they’ll for sure go and trap our outsides. … Be a little better in the middle, but I like our chances against anyone, to be honest.”

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

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/womens-volleyball/stats/2024/southwest-minnesota-state/boxscore/13842