Volleyball Sports WOLVES After winning their first five, and nine of their first ten matches of the year, the Wolves ran into a serious road block when senior outside hitter Kelsey Aden went down with a knee injury. The loss sent NSU into a six-match tailspin, but head coach Lisa Schriver and the Wolves started picking up the pieces and found new ways to win in the second half of the season. While not qualifying for the post-season conference tournament, NSU surpassed the 2007 mark of 13 wins in its final home weekend of the season, sweeping Winona State and Upper Iowa on Nov. 7-8. Those two wins assured the Wolves of a non-losing season while also moving Schriver ever closer to the 200 career win threshold. Schriver has 199 wins in her career. NSU faces the daunting task of replacing senior libero Stephanie Nygaard and senior outside hitter Melanie Perez, along with academic senior middle blocker Jill Rasmussen next season. All three were season-long starters and consistent contributors for the Wolves. Football Despite finishing the season 1-10 overall and 1-9 in conference play, the NSU football team can find several bright spots in the 2008 season. Five of the team’s ten losses were by eight points or fewer, including back-to-back 3-point losses on Oct. 16 and Oct. 25. The Wolves, who were forced to fight through a rash of mid-season injuries, also dropped three games to teams that qualified for some sort of post-season play. Offensively, the Wolves were led by sophomore quarterback Eric Ellingson, who passed for 2,572 yards and 20 touchdowns while running for seven more. Senior running back Tavis Ve’e, who had a midseason injury which NSU had to contend with, caught a team-best five of those TD passes and carried the ball for another three. All told, Ellingson threw TD passes to eight different receivers in a balanced, potent passing attack. Defensively, inside linebacker Anthony Ponzo made 98 tackles to lead the way for the Wolves. Defensive end, Bryar Johnson, had 67 tackles, including 12 for a loss and five sacks. Both marks were team-bests. The Wolves lose 14 seniors off this year’s squad, all of whom either started or saw significant playing time throughout the year. It was history in the making for the NSU cross country program in 2008. Under firstyear head coach Kevin Bjerke, the men’s squad ran its way into the top ten of the USTFCCCA Central Region rankings on Oct. 28, where the Wolves spent two weeks at the No. 10 spot. The regional ranking marked just the second time in NSU’s 14-year Division II history that the Wolves have been regionally ranked. The only other time the Wolves had been ranked was a tenth place showing in the Sept. 25, 2005 set of the North Central Regional Rankings. Both the men’s and women’s squads competed successfully throughout the season and ended the year with strong performances at both the NSIC and the Division II Central Regional meets. The men, led by three-time All-NSIC performer Danny Scott, finished fifth at the conference meet and 12 out of 21 teams in the Regional Championships. The women’s squad was eighth at conference and finished 17 of 23 teams at the regional meet. The Central Region is considered one of the toughest cross country regions in the nation, featuring numerous teams ranked in the top 25 in the nation, including six-time defending women’s national champion Adams State. KAYLEE MCDONALD, Ramsey, Minn. JOHN RAWERTS, Aberdeen JOSH SCHMEICHEL, Milbank TRAVIS VE’E, Alameda, Calif. NORTHERN TODAY 6 CAITLIN OELKE, Chaska, Minn. JILL RASMUSSEN, Sioux Falls Volleyball CROSS COUNTRY Soccer The NSU women’s soccer team concluded yet another successful season, qualifying for the NSIC post-season tournament for the 11 straight year. The Wolves have never missed a conference tournament since the program’s inception. Freshman forward, Kaylee McDonald, led the team in both goals scored (13) and points (29), while sophomore midfielder, Maggie Fedor, had eight goals and a team-high eight assists to finish with 24 points on the year, earning Second Team Daktronics All-Central Region honors for her efforts. McDonald and Catherine “Kit” Grace also earned AllNSIC accolades. McDonald was a Second Team selection while Grace was tabbed to the Honorable Mention list.
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