>Box Score
MARSHALL, Minn. - The No. 4 seed Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team took down No. 5 seed Winona State in the quarterfinal match on Tuesday night in the PE Gym by scores of 25-23, 25-14, 25-18. SMSU recorded its 11th straight victory over WSU.
SMSU (21-8) posted a .381 hitting percentage while WSU (19-8) hit just .163 in the match. Both teams recorded seven blocks on the night. A trio of Mustangs led the charge as Megan Larson recorded four blocks—one solo, Sarah Parker and Eisha Oden both recorded three blocks.
Kenzie Beekman led the Mustangs with 14 kills while hitting .281. Eisha Oden and Abbey Thissen contributed 11 each while both hitting an impressive, .500 and .643, respectively. Megan Larson paced the offense with 42 assists and Whitney Burmeister led with 11 digs.
In the first frame, both teams fought for the lead as there was a match-high nine tie scores and three lead changes. The set was tied at 22-22 before a pair of WSU attack errors gave SMSU the set point. WSU scored a point before a kill by Eisha Oden finished the set out, 25-23.
SMSU jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead in the second set and did not look back. SMSU hit a match-high .516 and recorded just two attack errors. The Mustangs took the set, 25-14 and led the match 2-0.
In the third, both teams traded points to start and were knotted up at 9-9 in the set before SMSU scored five straight to go ahead 14-9. SMSU continued its efficient hitting the rest of the set to complete the sweep, 25-18.
Southwest Minnesota State will continue on to the semifinal round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/US Bank Tournament as it travels to Duluth, Minnesota on Friday. Minnesota Duluth received the No. 1 seed in the tournament and defeated Sioux Falls in five sets. Match is set to start at 7:30 p.m. from the Romano Gymnasium.
Tournament Site
