BOX SCORE

ST. PAUL, Minn. – No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State was swept for the first time this season by No. 6 Concordia University, St. Paul by scores of 15-25, 25-27 and 23-25. The Mustangs fall to 17-3, 9-2 NSIC, while CU remains the only unbeaten team in NSIC play at 17-4, 12-0 NSIC.

Devin Diedrich led the Mustangs with 13 kills the junior also had three kills to go along with a one block assists and one solo block. Brooke Burmeister picked up 11 kills for the Mustangs along with four digs.
The Mustangs fought from behind most of the first set before falling 15-25. Diedrich led SMSU with five kills in the first set. Burmeister picked up four kills in the first set as well.

The second set saw the two teams trading points for the majority of the set. The Mustangs tied the set at 18-18 on a kill by Groth but could not fight all the way back in the set. SMSU looked to win the second set after fighting all the way back but after taking extra points the Mustangs fell by a 25-27 score.

Kenzie Niesche led the Mustangs defense with 17 digs. She was the only player for SMSU to record double-digits in digs. Cara Carson followed that with nine digs of her own. Carson also led SMSU with 33 assists.

Southwest Minnesota State hit .203 as a team which was not enough to muster up a win. The Golden Bears were led by the powerful arm of Emily Palkert who led all players with 18 kills in the match.

Down 8-15 in the third set SMSU rallied for five straight points to come within two points at 13-15. The Mustangs just couldn't quite come all the way back. The Golden Bears would hold a one point lead over the Mustangs at five more points in the third set eventually taking the final set 23-25.

This was the first time that Southwest Minnesota State has been swept this season. The Mustangs will look to rebound on Tuesday when they head to Sioux Falls, S.D. to take on Augustana. First serve is set for 7 p.m.