Box Score

CROOKSTON, MINN. – Kasey Loeslie killed a match-high 12 balls and Sara Graf dished out a match-high 38 assists to lead No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-18) conference victory over Minnesota, Crookston Tuesday night in Crookston, Minn.

SMSU improves to 25-5 (14-4, NSIC), while UMC drops to 6-21 (6-12, NSIC). 

Loeslie's 12 kills came off just 18 swings with three errors for a stellar .500 hitting percentage.  The senior middle blocker was a virtual wall at the net, recording four blocks and forcing the Golden Eagles to continue play on their side of the net after numerous offensive attacks.  She was one of two Mustang hitters to clip double digits in the kills column as Devin Diedrich posted 11 kills.  Laura Hegerle was just two shy of hitting the mark with eight.

Sarah Quiram was solid on the defensive front for the Mustangs, grabbing a match high 13 digs.

SMSU opened the match with a bit of a different look, shuffling a few players into the lineup to add some speed to the court.  UMC held tough until midway through the set when the Mustangs took a 19-14 lead and rode it to the set victory.

The second turned into a near carbon copy of the first, with the Mustangs and Golden Eagles neck and neck until SMSU was able to establish another six point lead.  Precision serving in the set allowed the Mustangs to fend off a late surge from the host team.

SMSU turned up its play at the net in the third and final set, holding UMC to just a .053 hitting percentage in the set en route to the set victory.

The Mustangs were unstoppable from behind the service line, sending over 10 unreturnable balls in the match.  Lauren Swain was the most potent server, posting three aces on the evening.

SMSU finishes off the regular season this weekend when the Mustangs host Mary and Northern State on Friday and Saturday.