Box Score

WINONA, MINN.:  Laura Hegerle and Devin Diedrich combined for 32 kills to lead No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State to a 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-18, 15-10) conference victory over Winona State Tuesday night in Winona, Minn.

SMSU improves to 16-2 (5-1, NSIC), while Winona State drops to 5-10 (3-3, NSIC).

Hergele finished with a match-high 19 kills, while Diedrich came in with 13.  Another pair of Mustangs, Maggie Geske and Tory Brouwer, were also in double digits in kills with 10 a piece.

Geske also added 19 digs to her performance en route to the double double.

Sarah Quiram led SMSU's defensive effort with a team-high 20 digs.

The setting duties were split between Sara Graf and Cara Carson, they came in with 32 and 18 assists, respectively.

WSU came out swinging in the first set and created passing problems for the Mustangs early.  The Warriors used a block to take the lead 13-12 and did not trail for the remainder of the set.  SMSU found itself in the unfamiliar position--trailing 1-0 heading into the second set.

The second set appeared to be securely in the hands of WSU; the Warriors built a 10 point lead and needed just two more points to win the set.  However, with no timeouts remainining, the Mustangs mounted a spectacular comeback and rattled off 12 unanswered points as the host Warriors watched their 10 point lead dissolve into defeat.

The celebration on the SMSU bench did not last long as the Warriors quickly build a third set lead that the Mustangs could not break into.  But a five point lead the Mustangs were able to build in the fourth set was enough to hold off the Warriors and tie the match 2-2.

A 5-0 Mustang run to open the fifth and final set proved to be too much for the Warriors, and Hegerle kill at 14-10 was the knock-out punch SMSU needed to grab the victory.

The Mustangs open a four-match home stand this weekend when Minnesota State University Moorhead and Minnesota, Crookston travel to Marshall for two conference match-ups.