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MARSHALL, Minn. - Wayne State's Tali Fredrickson went off for 23 kills to lead her Wildcats to a 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 24-26, 26-24, 15-13) win over No. 10 Southwest Minnesota State Tuesday night at the Mustangs' conference and home opener in Marshall, Minn.
WSC improves to 12-2 (1-0 NSIC), while SMSU drops to 10-3 (0-1 NSIC).
Three WSC hitters were in double figures for an offense that hit .292 on the night.
Tory Brouwer finished with a career-high 20 kills in the loss.
Mary Groth wasn't far behind with 18, while
Devin Diedrich and
Brooke Burmeister had 13 and 11, respectively.
Sara Graf assisted on a season-high 65 kills and aced three serves.
Kenzie Niesche was tops in the dig column for SMSU with 23.
The Mustangs built a four-point lead in the opening set, riding a pair of kills from
Crissi Schewe and Brouwer to a 25-21 set victory.
The Wildcats, however, used runs of 6-0 and 4-0 and in the ensuing set to edge out a four-point set victory of their own.
SMSU trailed late in the third set, facing a 21-17 deficit. But by compiling a 6-2 run, the Mustangs tied the set at 21 apiece. Kills courtesy of Schewe, Brouwer and Graf capped the comeback, which ended in extra points at 26-24.
WSC reversed the outcome in the fourth set by taking SMSU to extra points again, but this time gaining a two-point set victory.
With the match tied at 2-2, both teams looked to have a chance to strike early. But WSC's 13-10 late lead was too much for the home Mustangs, and the Wildcats got a kill from Lea Hartigan to take the match. WSC had 10 kills with no errors in 23 swings in the final set.
Offense didn't seem to be an issue for either squads as neither hit below .270. SMSU outkilled WSC 77-68.
Nine service errors--a few at pivotal points--haunted the Mustangs. WSC committed 10 of its own on the evening.
SMSU will travel to Minnesota State, Mankato on Saturday for a 4 p.m. match.