BOX SCORE

FAYETTE, Iowa - Brooke Burmeister drilled 22 kills as No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State defeated Upper Iowa University 25-15, 20-25, 25-23, 25-15 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball action on Saturday afternoon in Fayette, Iowa. SMSU improves to 17-6 overall on the season, including 11-3 in conference play while Upper Iowa falls to 13-11, 6-8 NSIC.

Mary Groth and freshman middle blocker Alyssa Taylor each added double-digits in kills for the Mustangs. Groth finished with 14 kills and Taylor added 13 kills for SMSU. Rachel Westby led SMSU with a career-high 24 digs in the match.

The Mustangs started off the match strong gaining an 8-0 lead over the Peacocks. Burmeister and Groth each had two kills for the Mustangs during that stretch. Upper Iowa got back into the set brining the score to within four points at 12-16 in favor of SMSU. The Mustangs grabbed nine of the next 12 points to win the first set 25-15.

Upper Iowa was able to take the second set from the Mustangs, something it has only done once in 13 previous meetings. The two teams played point-for-point for the first half of the second set. The Peacocks used a late four-point run helping win the set 25-20.

The third set saw much of the same back-and-forth play as the second set. There were 15 tie scores and five lead changes alone in the third set. In the middle of the set, SMSU put together two three-point runs helping even the set at 15-15. The Mustangs were able to hang on to win the third set 25-23.

Three other Mustangs reached double-digits in digs. Brittany Wenzel and Kenzie Niesche each finished with 16 digs. Burmeister recorded her 11th double-double of the season coming up with 14 digs in the match.

Burmeister fueled the Mustangs to begin the second set coming up with six early kills helping SMSU to a 16-10 lead. The Mustangs were able to pull away in the final set winning by a final score of 25-15.

Southwest Minnesota State will continue NSIC play on Saturday, Oct. 29, hosting Minnesota State, Mankato at 4 p.m.