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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team swept past Grand Valley State (Mich.) 25-19, 25-23, 25-18 at the NCAA Division II national semifinals on Friday afternoon and will now play for the program's first-ever national championship on Saturday.

SMSU (26-9) will play Tampa (Fla.) on Saturday for the national championship at 3 p.m. CST.
 
SMSU hit .288 against Grand Valley State, which was the highest hitting percentage that the Lakers have given up the entire season. Eisha Oden led the Mustangs with 11 kills along with a career-high .526 hitting percentage. Kenzie Beekman recorded 10, while Sarah Parker tallied nine kills. Abbey Thissen was also efficient for the Mustangs as she floored eight kills while hitting .467. Megan Larson powered the offense with 37 assists, while Whitney Burmeister posted 15 digs.
 
Grand Valley State (27-9) hit just .105 in the match and was swept for just the second time this season. The Mustang defense did not allow a single Laker individual to reach double-figure kills, as the Mustang defense recorded five blocks led by Oden with three blocks—one solo.
 
Both teams traded points to start set one as the score was tied at 7-7. SMSU gained some momentum and took the lead and went on to lead the rest of the set taking it, 25-19. Oden recorded six kills while hitting .750 in the set.

SMSU used a big rally in set two to take control of the match. Trailing 18-11, SMSU reeled off seven straight points to tie the set at 18. Following a GVSU point, SMSU answered back with four straight points to build a 22-19 lead, before eventually winning the set 25-23. 

In the final set, SMSU trailed 7-6 before a service error and back-to-back hitting errors by GVSU gave SMSU a 9-7 lead. SMSU's Claire Sames capped a 4-0 run by the Mustangs with a kill to push the lead to 10-7. GVSU answered with a pair of points to make it 10-9, before a kill by Sames and a service ace by Jessica Thelemann extended SMSU's lead to 12-9. The Lakers mounted a short rally to make the score 12-11, but a 4-0 SMSU run, started by a kill by Beekman and capped by an Oden kill, pushed the SMSU lead to 16-11. The Mustangs lead never dipped below three points the remainder of the set as SMSU closed out the match with a 25-18 win. SMSU hit a match-high .324 in the final frame and held the Lakers to match-low .069.
 
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