BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. – After No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State won the first set, No. 5 Minnesota Duluth stormed back to defeat the Mustangs in five sets 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 15-11 on Friday night in Marshall. The Bulldogs used a three-headed attack to down the Mustangs, with Hannah Johnson leading the way with 19 kills.

Southwest Minnesota State falls to 9-3 on the season, including 3-1 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play while the Bulldogs remain undefeated at 13-0, 5-0 NSIC.

The match saw 29 tie scores and 13 lead changes, with the two teams playing a closely contested match.

Brooke Burmeister provided a spark for the Mustangs all match, finishing with a match-high 23 kills. Mary Groth, Rachel Westby, and Alyssa Taylor each had double-digits in kills for the Mustangs. Taylor matched her career-high with 10.

Taylor helped SMSU's blocking game which turned up big at key moments in the match. The freshman middle blocker had two solo, and four block assists, helping the Mustangs to 10 team blocks on the night.

Trailing 18-21 in the first set, Southwest Minnesota State gained the momentum of the match going on a five-point run to take a 23-21 lead over the Bulldogs. Burmeister sparked the run with two consecutive kills of the set of Carson. Minnesota Duluth would make it interesting but it was Burmeister again who came up with a big kill to give SMSU a 25-23 first set win.

The two teams matched one another point-for-point in the second set playing to a tie score at 20. The Bulldogs won the second set 25-22 after the Mustangs committed three errors late in the set.

The Bulldogs stormed out to a 6-2 lead in the third set before Taylor sparked an SMSU run with three consecutive kills giving the Mustangs a 13-9 lead. The set looked to go in SMSU's favor until the Bulldogs put together a late three-point run and a 22-21 lead. Kate Lange provided two big kills helping UMD to a 25-23 win in set two. Lange finished the match with 17 kills and 21 digs.

Cara Carson finished the match with 51 set assists, as SMSU hit .230 as a team. Carson tied her career-high coming up with 19 digs for the Mustangs. Senior libero Brittany Wenzel led the Mustangs with 20 digs, while Westby came up with 16 digs of her own.

Three straight Bulldog errors and another kill by Burmeister early in the fourth set helped SMSU to an 8-4. After a brief 10-10 tie, SMSU never trailed again in the fourth set, forcing a set fifth set with a 25-20 win.

Once again the Mustangs and the Bulldogs traded blows before Minnesota Duluth pulled away with the set, and the match after a big three-point swing in the fifth. The Bulldogs won the fifth set 15-11 to down the Mustangs.

Southwest Minnesota State will continue NSIC play tomorrow afternoon hosting Bemidji State at 3 p.m. as a part of SMSU's homecoming activities.