> WJU Box Score
> CU Box ScoreST. PAUL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State opened its season on Friday with a pair of tough losses to nationally ranked teams at the Concordia-St. Paul Classic.
SMSU opened the season with a 3-2 loss to No. 17 Wheeling Jesuit (W. Va.), by scores of 17-25, 25-18, 11-25, 26-24, 15-7, before dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 1 and defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul, 28-26, 25-21, 25-18.
In the setback to WJU,
Abbey Thissen led SMSU with 22 kills and a .400 hitting percentage, while
Sarah Parker hit .483 with 16 kills.
Kenzie Beekman recorded her first career double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs.
Megan Larson paced the offense with 38 assists, while
Emilee Gutzmer chipped in with 20 assists.
SMSU hit .206 and recorded nine blocks, while WJU hit just .155 with for blocks.
In the loss to CU, Beekman paced the Mustangs with 14 kills and hit .231, while also adding seven digs.
Whitney Burmeister recorded a team-high 10 digs. SMSU finished the match hitting .220, while CU racked up a .358 hitting percentage.
In set one, SMSU held a 25-24 lead, but CU rallied with a pair of points to extend the set and take a 26-25 lead, before Beekman registered a kill to tie the score at 26. CU closed out the set with back-to-back kills to earn a 28-26 victory.
SMSU held another late lead in set two, holding a slight 21-20 advantage, before the Golden Bears reeled off five straight points to win the set 25-21.
SMSU (0-2) continues play on Saturday morning taking on Ashland (Ohio) at 9:30 and Missouri S&T at 2:30 p.m.
