Bismark (VCSU) – Valley City State’s Bailey Nelson has been named the North Star Athletic Association Attacker of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

Olivia Galas of Bellevue was chosen as the Setter of the Week.  Natalie Hadrava of Mayville State was named as the Defender of the Week.

NSAA Volleyball Attacker of the Week
Bailey Nelson – Valley City State (N.D.) – 6’0″, Senior, outside hitter – Argusville, N.D. – Nelson led Valley City State’s offense attack to a pair of 3-0 home sweeps, including the North Star Athletic Association opener versus Dickinson State and tied a career-best 17 kills in a sweep over NCAA Division III Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.). She totaled 25 kills while averaging 4.2 kills per set and hit .258 for the week. Nelson added four digs, a service ace, and a block.

NSAA Volleyball Setter of the Week
Olivia Galas – Bellevue (Neb.) – 5’9″, Senior, setter – Bellevue, Neb. – Galas averaged 10.3 assists and 4.3 digs per set as No. 15 Bellevue (Neb.) went 2-0 record for the week, including a 3-0 North Star Athletic Association opener road sweep over (RV) Dakota State (S.D.) and a 3-0 home victory over McPherson (Kan.).  She also tallied 12 kills for the week and hit .550.  Galas posted a double-double of 32 set assists and 18 digs at Dakota State followed by 30 assists and eight digs versus McPherson.  For the week, Galas totaled 62 set assists, 26 digs, 12 kills, and 7 blocks.

NSAA Volleyball Defender of the Week
Natalie Hadrava – Mayville State (N.D.) – 5’9″, Senior, defensive specialist – Laporte, Minn. – Hadrava shattered Mayville State’s (N.D.) single-match school record for most digs, rallying back for a 3-2 road thriller at Presentation (S.D.) in the North Star Athletic Association opener.  She collected 60 digs in the match and averaged 12 digs per set for the Comets.

Recap from last week’s action
The North Star Athletic Association volleyball season officially started on Sept. 13 between Mayville State (N.D.) and Presentation (S.D.) in Aberdeen, S.D.  The Saints jumped to a 2-0 match lead before the Comets rallied back to win the next three sets for a 3-2 thrilling victory.  Mayville State is 6-8 overall record and 1-0 NSAA conference record, while Presentation is 3-13 overall record and 0-1 NSAA conference record.

The North Star conference opener continued Sept. 14 with three other matches.  Viterbo (Wis.), No. 9 in the latest NAIA Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 national poll, swept Waldorf (Iowa) in three straight sets in Forest City, Iowa.  The V-Hawks lifted their overall record to 11-5 and 1-0 NSAA conference, while the Warriors fell to 8-2 overall record and 0-1 NSAA conference record.

No. 15 ranked Bellevue (Neb.) swept Dakota State (S.D.), receiving votes in the national poll, in three straight sets on Sept. 15.  The Trojans bounced back in the winning column on Sept. 16 with a 3-0 rout over Morningside (Iowa).  The Bruins returned home on Sept. 17 for a 3-0 sweep over McPherson (Kan.).  Bellevue is 10-5 overall record and 1-0 NSAA conference record.  Dakota State is 8-8 overall record and 0-1 NSAA conference record.

Valley City State (N.D.) returned home on Sept. 15 with a 3-0 sweep over Dickinson State (N.D.) in the NSAA conference opener.  The Vikings followed up with another 3-0 home sweep over NCAA Division III Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) on Sept. 16.  VCSU improved their overall record to 6-7 and 1-0 record in North Star, while the Blue Hawks fell to 2-12 overall record and 0-1 NSAA record.