INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Nebraska Wesleyan University volleyball team clinched a top-5 seed in the 2026 A-R-C tournament a gritty five-set win at Simpson on Saturday afternoon, taking a 3–2 victory (25-22, 33-31, 23-25, 25–27, 15–13) at Cowles Fieldhouse With the win, the Prairie Wolves improve to 15-9 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
After taking the opening two sets, Nebraska Wesleyan held off a late push from Simpson to win the final frame and secure a 3-2 victory Saturday afternoon. The Prairie Wolves claimed the first two sets, 25-22 and 33-31, before Simpson rallied to even the match. NWU answered in the decisive fifth set, winning 15-13 behind clutch defense.
Macy Plucker delivered a career night, posting 17 kills on a blistering .213 hitting percentage while adding 18 points. Molly Ramirez added 14 kills on a .194 clip, Jera Schuerman supplied 11 kills at .270, and Ella Foote posted 11 kills, giving the Prairie Wolves four hitters in double figures.
Setter Elecea Saathoff controlled the offense with 49 assists and 11 digs, recording a double-double while surpassing 4,000 career assists and becoming Nebraska Wesleyan's all-time career assist leader. She guided NWU to a .203 hitting percentage as a team. Defensively, Grayson Piening anchored the back row with a team-high 25 digs, while Ramirez, Plucker and Saathoff combined for 38 digs to help steady the Prairie Wolves late in the match.
Nebraska Wesleyan's block also made a late impact, tallying 10 block-assists, highlighted by Stoppkotte's four and Ramirez's three total blocks.
In the decisive fifth set, the Prairie Wolves pulled away from an early tie behind kills from Foote and Schuerman before holding off Simpson late. After the Storm tied the set at 13-13, Plucker delivered a kill to put NWU ahead before a Simpson setting error sealed the 15-13 victory.
The Prairie Wolves will close out the regular season at home on Tuesday against Wartburg at 6:00 p.m. Live stats will be available at nwusports.com.
