NORTHERN TODAY 17 FALL 2015 NORTHERN ATHLETICS WOLVES VOLLEYBALL THE WOLVES VOLLEYBALL TEAM notched one of the best seasons in school history, recording a school record 21-game win streak to open the season. The Wolves volleyball team began the season without a national ranking and defeated No. 8 Grand Valley State, No. 1 Minnesota Duluth, No. 24 Winona State and No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul on their way to a 25-4 season record. For much of the season, the Wolves paced the NSIC statistically, finishing in the top five in several categories: hitting percentage (.298), opponent hitting percentage (.189), assists per set (13.94), opponent assists per set (11.10), kills (14.44), opponent kills (11.73), and opponent blocks (1.68). Individually, senior Cari McGarvie had the third highest NSIC hitting percentage (.380), senior Kelsey Chambers finished second in kills (4.19) and senior Drew Smith led the NSIC in assists (13.09). Smith had a stellar senior season, leading all Division II teams in assists per set for the entirety of the 2015 season, and earning NSIC Setter of the Week seven times during the season. Smith also reached a personal career milestone. In the Wolves five-set battle with No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State, Smith broke the Wolves career assists record with her 4,415th assist. The senior finished with 4,774 career assists. Smith and fellow seniors Kelsey Chambers, Renee Hoffman, and Cari McGarvie are members of head coach Brent Aldridge’s first recruiting class and have helped bring the program from a 13-14 record to national contention. Chambers entered record books in 2013 as Northern’s first AVCA All-American, and led the team in several statistical categories in 2015. Chambers earned her first AVCA Player of the Week honor in the opening week of NSIC play. She led the Wolves to three victories over MSU Moorhead, No. 1 Minnesota Duluth, and St. Cloud State while averaging 4.64 kills per set, 2.36 digs per set, 5.0 points per set, and hitting .462 in 11 sets played. Chambers was also honored as the KDLT-TV Athlete of the Week. As a team, the Wolves were featured on KDLT-TV, NCAA.com, and Hero Sports News this season, as they were the only unbeaten team in the national top-25 at the end of October and the only squad to take down two national No. 1 teams. Aldridge attributes the team’s success to hard work on and off the court, as well as the team’s passion and desire to be the best players they can be. Northern named four on the NSIC All-Conference list, including first-teamers Drew Smith, Kelsey Chambers, and Cari McGarvie, as well as second-teamer Mandy Kurosky. Smith was named the NSIC Player of the Year, as she finished the season leading the nation in assists per set. Brent Aldridge was named the NSIC Coach of the Year for the second time in just three seasons. Chambers and Smith both earned AVCA and D2CCA All-Central Region honors, while head coach Brent Aldridge was named the AVCA Central Region Coach of the Year. VO L L E YBA L L Senior Cari McGarvie (#7) notched a .408 attack percentage and 331 regular season kills. Senior Kelsey Chambers (#1) led the Wolves with 416 kills and had a .346 attack percentage.
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