STORM LAKE, Iowa – Nebraska Wesleyan scored the first eight points of the deciding fifth set and held off a late Buena Vista rally as the Prairie Wolves went on the road to defeat the Beavers in the American Rivers Conference volleyball opener on Wednesday night (Sept. 18) in Storm Lake, Iowa.  NWU won the match in scores of 25-23, 16-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12.
 
With the victory, NWU moves to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play while BVU drops to 2-9 on the season.
 
The Prairie Wolves won the opening set despite trailing late in set one.  NWU was down 14-18, 20-22 then 21-23 after a costly service error.  That is when the Prairie Wolves turned things around.  After a BVU attack error, junior Cora Svoboda took over the match.  She recorded a kill then had back-to-back blocks at the net to seal the win.
 
BVU jumped ahead 7-1 in the second set and went on to roll to the easy win in the set.  The Prairie Wolves had a negative hitting percentage while BVU hit .370 as a team in set two.
 
Set three was very competitive and appeared to be headed towards a NWU victory until the tide turned late in the set.  NWU led 21-17 needing just four points to take the 2-1 advantage, but BVU would outscore the Prairie Wolves 8-2 to take over the lead in the match.  Four of the eight Beaver points were off NWU attack errors as they committed nine in the set.
 
Needing to win the set to keep the match alive, the Prairie Wolves never trailed in the 4^th set.  NWU had 12 kills in the fourth set while BVU struggled with 11 attack errors.  The Beavers cut the lead down to three at 22-19 then NWU scored three straight points capped by a kill from Nyah Chambers sending the match to a fifth set.
 
NWU came out firing in the fifth set jolting to an 8-0 advantage.  A big reason for the quick start was four attack errors by BVU and a ball handling error.  The Beavers didn't fold and made a fierce run threating to pull a drastic comeback. 
 
The Beavers cut the eight point lead down to one point at 13-12 and the home team had all the momentum.  An attack error gave the Prairie Wolves match point and they sealed the win on a kill by Nicole Gonzales to get the conference season off to a great start.
 
NWU finished the match with 51 total kills and a .084 hitting percentage while BVU had 55 and swung .096 as a team.
 
Hanna Bellinghausen led the Prairie Wolves with 17 kills as one of two NWU players to reach double figures in kills and points.  Cora Svoboda had 11 kills hitting .400 and ended the game with seven blocks.  Cassidy Plooster posted a double-double with 30 assists and 11 digs and Kelsie Stovall led the Prairie Wolves with 24 digs.
 
Sydney McLaren led the Beavers with 19 kills.