BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY

MARSHALL, Minn. - No. 10 Southwest Minnesota State started off its home season in the right way on Saturday afternoon defeating No. 7 and previously unbeaten Wayne State 3-1 at the PE Gym in Marshall.

SMSU won by scores of 25-21, 23-25, 25-21 and 25-18. SMSU improves to 7-3 overall, 2-0 NSIC, while WSC drops to 9-1 overall, 1-1 NSIC. Wayne State entered the match have dropped just three sets all season.

Abbey Thissen paced the Mustangs with a match-high 21 kills, while hitting .333 on 42 attack attempts. Whitney Burmeister collected 13 kills and finished with a career-high 25 digs, while McKell Anderson also recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 16 digs. Rachel Westby also reached double figures in digs with 16.

SMSU finished the match hitting .265 (61-21-151) with six service aces, 70 digs and nine total blocks. WSC hit .238 as a team (54-18-151), but committed 13 service aces and had no service aces.

In set one, SMSU broke free fro an 11-11 score with an 8-1 run and never looked back in earning the win. The Mustangs hits .364 in the set with Thissen leading the way with five kills.

SMSU struggled in set two, falling behind 5-0 and were never able to recover. WSC built a 15-8 lead, before SMSU clawed its way back and trimmed the deficit to 23-22, but the Wildcats held off the charge to earn a 25-23 victory.

In the third set, SMSU used a 5-0 run to build a 15-8 lead and cruised to the 25-21 set win. The Mustang defense limited the Wildcats to just .196 hitting in the set.

SMSU then sealed the victory in the fourth set storming out to a 9-3 lead, while limiting WSC to a .114 hitting percentage to win the set 25-18.

Cori Hobbs paced the Wildcats with 16 kills.

Southwest Minnesota State continues NSIC play on Tuesday night with a road match versus the University of Sioux Falls. SMSU returns home next Friday, Sept. 27, taking on Northern State at the PE Gym starting at 7 p.m.