The Northern State Volleyball team defeated Southwest Minnesota State in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 2018.

In the last matches of the regular season last weekend the Wolves swept Augustana and lost a tightly fought five-set match to Southwest Minnesota State.

Against Augustana, the Wolves won by scores of 25-18, 25-15, and 25-22. In three sets, the Wolves tallied 46 kills, led by Natalia Szybinska with 13, followed by Abby Brooks with 10, and Hanna Thompson with eight. Keri Walker accounted for all 40 Northern assists, with Abby Meister responsible for 29 of the team’s 54 digs.

Last Saturday against SMSU, the Wolves fell in five sets 18-25, 25-28, 25-17, 14-25, 15-9. In that match, it was Thompson who led with 16 kills, followed by Szybinska with 12, and Morissen Samuels with 11. Reese Johnson accounted for 3 of the 6 Wolves’ aces, and Walker had a team-leading 46 assists and 23 digs.

Because the Wolves lost to Southwest in the final regular season match, the Mustangs hosted the Wolves in the first round of the NSIC Tournament this past Tuesday. The Wolves, who had lost twice in five sets to the Mustangs, claimed a four-set win, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 25-20.

Szybinksa led with 20 kills, followed by Thompson with 15, and Samuels with 13. Abby Brooks had five blocks, with Victoria Persha and Keri Walker each contributing four. Walker also had 42 assists, and 17 digs, with Meister topping the team with 25 digs.

With the win over Southwest, the Wolves will travel to St. Cloud to take on the second-rated Huskies on Saturday at 5 p.m. The winner of that match will take on the winner of Concordia St-Paul and Wayne State on Sunday at 3 p.m. at St. Cloud State.

Last Thursday night, the Wolves wrestling squad had a near sweep over Dakota Wesleyan with a 40-3 victory. Wins from the Wolves came from Sloan Johannsen at 125 pounds, Braydon Mogle at 141, Wyatt Turnquist at 149 due to forfeit, Griffin Lundeen at 157, Izaak Hunsely at 165, Mason Fey at 174, Damen Pape at 184, Tyson Lien at 197, and Nathan Schauer at 285.

The Wolves will compete at the Younes Hospitality open at Nebraska Kearney on Saturday.

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams got in the win column this past week. The women took home their first two wins of the year on the road in Rapid City.

Their first win came against Black Hills State, 72-60 last Friday. Madelyn Bragg led the offense with 20 points, followed by Izzy Moore off the bench with 13. Alayna Benike and Michaela Jewett led the rebounding category with nine each.

The men also hit the road last Friday taking on Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. The Wolves lost 66-68. They were led by the DMACC transfers with Kwat Abdelkarim putting up 16 points, and James Glenn following with 15, while also adding eight assists. Tobi Oriora finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Last Saturday, the women defeated South Dakota Mines 82-68, in a game that had three girls hit double digits in the points column. Rianna Fillipi led with 23, followed by Bragg with 18, and Benike with 13. Benike shot a perfect 3 of 3 from the 3-point line, going 5-for-6 from the field. Jewett was once again the leading rebounder with eight this time.

In a home opener at Wachs Arena, the men’s squad got its first win of the year, led by the DMACC transfers once again. Glenn put up 34 points, and Abdelkarim added 12 in an 81-71 win over Dakota State. Lane Tietz of Groton, and Isaac Sumption of Frederick were two guards for the Trojans that saw significant time in the contest against the Wolves. Tietz put up a team-high 15 points and five rebounds, coming off the bench. Sumption scored seven points.

The women’s team will kick off conference play at 7 tonight at Wachs Arena against Mary. The men will have one more preseason contest at Jamestown on Saturday before returning home for their conference opener against Mary at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The Northern State Swim & Dive team is back in action after a couple weeks off, competing in the CSP Invite, a three-day event starting today. Track and Field is also beginning to get into the swing of things with its Maroon vs. Gold Meet on Monday.