#2 Wayne State overcame a sluggish start and used career-high kills from Delaney Miller and Laney Kathol and a rare 20-20 double-double from junior outside hitter Channatee Robles to outlast Northern State 20-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21 Tuesday evening in the first round of the Northern Sun Conference volleyball tournament played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The Wildcats move to 27-3 on the season while Northern State ends the year at 19-10.
            The first set saw the Wolves take an early 7-3 lead, but WSC battled back and was in front 10-8.  However the Wolves gained momentum and scored 11 of the next 13 points for a commanding 19-11 lead and finished with a 25-20 opening set win.
            Miller had eight kills for WSC in the opening set.
            WSC trailed the first part of the second set, down 8-3 early, before finding their groove in the middle part of the set which led to a 25-18 Wildcat win to even the match. 
            The 'Cats turned a 13-12 deficit into a 17-13 lead to take the lead for good in the set.  A kill by Molly Romano, a block by Miller and Chloe Hanel, a kill by Miller, service ace from Robles and a Hanel/Romano block fueled the scoring surge giving WSC control of the set.
            Miller had five kills in the set with Kathol and Robles each recording three. 
            The third set featured 11 ties and two lead changes between the two clubs with WSC scoring the final four points of the set to capture a 25-22 set win.
            Trailing 22-21, WSC used a NSU service error followed by a Reese Johnson service ace for a 23-22 lead.  Consecutive kills from Robles closed the third set giving the 'Cats a 2-1 match lead.
            Robles accounted for eight kills in the pivotal third set for the 'Cats followed by Miller with six.  Johnson and Robles each had service aces.  WSC hit .462 in the third set with 21 kills.
            The 'Cats continued their strong hitting in the fourth set with 20 kills and a .348 attack percentage and closed the match with a 25-21 set win.
            Tied at 15-15, WSC scored four straight points to take the lead for good.  Kathol had three straight kills with another from Miller and Mattie Kamery to highlight the scoring run. 
            Robles ended the set with seven kills with Miller adding six and Kathol five to go with a pair of blocks.
            Wayne State ended the match hitting .335 with 72 kills while Northern State hit .285 on 57 kills.  The 'Cats held a 73-65 edge in digs while Northern State had a 9-6 edge in blocks and 8-6 in service aces.
            Miller ended the match with a career-high 25 kills, her fifth match in the last 11 with 20 or more kills. 
            Robles recorded a rare 20-20, double-double on 22 kills and a career-best 21 digs.  The last Wildcat to record a 20-20 match was current assistant coach Katie Hughes Morris with 25 kills and 25 digs in a match at Northern State on October 30, 2015 when #6 Wayne State defeated #2 Northern State. 
            Laney Kathol also had a career-high in kills with 12 while posting a sizzling .800 hitting percentage with no errors on 15 attacks.  Sophomore setter Molly Romano had a career-high 63 set assists with two service aces.
            Wayne State advances to the NSIC Tournament semi-finals in St. Paul, Minnesota Friday where the Wildcats face #3 seed St. Cloud State at 5 p.m.