A pair of impressive streaks extended another one at Wachs Arena Saturday evening.
Northern State used two different scoring runs to improve to 9-0 on the season with a 25-18, 25-13, 25-15 sweep over Minot State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball.
The Wolves scored the final 11 points of the second set and ran off nine straight points late in the third set to delight a lively crowd during the team's home opener.
"It was so great to finally be home after two weeks of being on the road," said Northern hitter Jussy Tuscherer. "It's great to have fans supporting us."
It was Tuscherer who found herself at the service line in each of those pivotal streaks.
"When I was going back there, I was just telling myself, 'Alright, I'm going to get it over. I'm going to bring the heat. I'm just going to try to put them out of system.' "
Whatever the former Northwestern standout did, it worked, as the Beavers could not get a side-out until major damage was done.
"I was just trying to give an aggressive serve to put them out of system, so that when they give us stuff back, our front row could put it down," Tuscherer said.
Northern's front row did just that.
Leading 14-13 in set two, Cari McGarvie had three kills and Macey Finizio had two as the Wolves took control of the match. The duo was back at it in set three as Finizio produced four kills and McGarvie three to help the maroon and gold pull away from a 13-12 lead.
Finizio led the sweep with 15 kills, Kelsey Chambers followed with 13 and McGarvie finished with 9.
Lost in the final stats was the hustle of senior Sami Nygaard who chased down several balls and ignited the crowd with her all-out style of play.
"That's my job is just to pick up all the junk that falls on the floor," Nygaard said, "and hopefully it doesn't fall."
Nygaard led the team with 19 digs.
Nygaard said the squad has made major strides since she arrived on campus four years ago.
"We just have a lot of young kids that are getting their first experience playing college ball and they love it," Nygaard said. "They bring a lot of momentum to our team. These girls hit it hard and they know what they're doing. It makes it really fun to play."
While the Wolves are 9-0 overall and 2-0 in the NSIC, Northern coach Brent Aldridge saw plenty of things against Minot that need attention.
"We can't play like that all year. We need to be better than that and (the players) know that," Aldridge said. "For us, it's a process. It's not about just winning. It's a process on how we do it. I think our kids are getting that now. They understand to beat the top teams in this league, you have to good for a long period of time."
It is that mindset that has expectations on the rise for a team that has gotten off to a stellar start to the season.
"Finally, that's how our program has evolved a little bit," Aldridge said of not being satisfied, despite being undefeated. "We understand that the hill is a lot higher."
Northern will attempt to scale that hill another step when it travels to Moorhead, Minn., on Tuesday to face the Dragons in a conference match.
"We're really good this year," Nygaard said, "and we don't plan on stopping any time soon."
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Serving: Minot State 0 aces; Northern State 4 aces (Sami Nygaard 2, Jussy Tuscherer 1, Macey Finizio 1).
Hitting: Minot State 87-106 23 kills (Jen Dixon 32-35 12 kills, Lauren Dunkle 17-24 5 kills); Northern State 87-98 45 kills (Finizio 22-23 15 kills, Kelsey Chambers 21-24 13 kills, Cari McGarvie 15-18 9 kills).
Setting: Minot State 22 assists (Emily Byrne 20 assists); Northern State 42 assists (Drew Smith 40).
Digs: Minot State 35 (Dunkle 10, Dixon 8); Northern State 54 (Nygaard 19, Chambers 14).
Blocks: Minot State 2 assists (Dixon 1, Tarah Dabovich 1); Northern State 10 assists (McGarvie 3, Tori Biach 2, Finizio 2).
Records: Minot State 4-6; Northern State 9-0.