#1 Wayne State used a match-high 15 kills from senior outside hitter Kelsie Cada and 12 from junior Maggie Brahmer that included her 1,000^th career kills as the Wildcats swept Sioux Falls 25-23, 25-14, 25-16 Tuesday evening in the Northern Sun Conference Volleyball Tournament opener played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The Wildcats have now won 21 straight games and are 28-1 overall while the Cougars end the season at 13-15.
            The opening set was a tightly-contested, back and forth battle featuring nine ties and seven lead changes between the two clubs. 
            Sioux Falls held a 9-7 lead, but WSC used a Brahmer kill, block by Taya Beller and Taylor Bunjer and a service ace by Jordan McCormick to take a 10-9 lead.  The Cougars came back to take a short-lived 12-11 lead, their final advantage of the opening set.
            A Channatee Robles kill, Cada kill and Robles ace gave the 'Cats a 14-12 lead forcing a Cougar time out.  USF closed within one at 17-16, then WSC put together kills by Brahmer and Bunjer along with a pair of USF errors for a 21-16 lead. 
            The Cougars stormed back to forge a 21-21 tie, but the 'Cats closed the set with a service ace by Cada and kill from Robles for a 25-23 opening set win.
            Cada posted five kills in the opening set with Robles adding four to go with one service ace.
            The second set was close early until the Wildcats separated themselves from the Cougars midway through the set for a 25-14 set victory.
            With the score tied at 9-9 in the second set, WSC scored 10 of the next 11 points for a commanding 19-10 lead and the 'Cats ended the set hitting .500 with 16 kills and just one error.  During the second set, Brahmer posted her 1,000^th career kill and had six kills on seven attacks to lead the 'Cats in the set. 
            Wayne State never trailed in the third set as the Wildcats took a 4-0 lead and rolled to a 25-16 set win.
            Cada accounted for six kills followed by Beller and Brahmer with three kills apiece.
            Wayne State ended the match with a .336 hitting percentage while holding Sioux Falls to a .215 percentage.  The 'Cats held a 45-40 edge in kills and 7-2 in blocks.  WSC also had six service aces to three for the Cougars.
            Cada's 15 kills led the Wildcats at the net while Brahmer chipped in 12 while becoming the 21^st player in school history to reach the 1,000-kill milestone.  Robles accounted for nine kills and Beller had eight.
            Bunjer and Beller each had four blocks while Havyn Heinz and Robles each recorded two aces.
            Senior libero Jordan McCormick produced 13 digs while senior setter Rachel Walker accounted for 39 set assists and 10 digs for her 11^th double-double of the year.
            With the win, Wayne State now hosts the semi-finals and finals of the 2023 NSIC Volleyball Tournament Saturday and Sunday in Wayne.  The Wildcats battle St. Cloud State in Saturday's opening semi-final game at 4:30 p.m. followed by Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota Duluth at 7 p.m.