Wayne State stayed unbeaten in NSIC play, but it wasn’t easy.
The Wildcats won the first two sets, then held off a Northern State comeback to take a five-set thriller over the Wolves, 28-26, 25-20, 20-25, 21-25, 15-2 in action Friday in Aberdeen, S.D.
The match featured 48 ties and 21 lead changes between the two teams. The first set alone saw 12 ties and six lead changes as the Wildcats fought off set point to score the final three points of the set with kills by Channatee Robles and Taya Beller and a Northern State attack error. Kelsie Cada and Beller each had five kills for WSC in the set while Robles and Maggie Brahmer each had three.
The Wildcats had another late run in the second set, scoring the final six points to take the two-set advantage. They forced 13 attack errors, seven of them on blocks. Cada had four kills with Robles and Brahmer each recording three while Beller had four blocks.
Northern State picked its defense up after the intermission, holding Wayne State to .056 hitting in the third set, then came back from a 16-14 deficit in the fourth to force the winner-take-all fifth set.
Northern led 9-8 in the finale, but Beller had back-to-back kills to put Wayne State in front at 10-9. They broke an 11-11 deadlock on a Brahmer kill and a solo block by Brahmer, and Brahmer and Robles recorded kills to close out the match.
Beller matched a career-high with 21 kills to pace Wayne State at the net. She also had a team-high eight blocks. Cada recorded 16 kills and 12 digs while Brahmer posted 14 kills and six blocks. Robles also recorded 10 kills in the win. Rachel Walker notched her team-high ninth double-double of the season with a career-high 55 assists and 15 digs. Jordan McCormick accounted for a team-high 22 digs and Allie Petry added 10.
The Wildcats (20-1, 11-0 NSIC) will be in action again Saturday afternoon playing at MSU Moorhead in a 1 p.m. contest.
