UAFS Box Score
UWF Box Score

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team opened up the 2015 campaign with wins over No. 21 Arkansas-Fort Smith and West Florida. SMSU swept the Lady Lions in the season opener before staging a 5-set comeback victory over West Florida on the Argonauts' home court. SMSU will be back in action tomorrow with matches vs. Saint Leo (Fla.) and Missouri-St. Louis.

SMSU vs. No. 21 Arkansas-Fort Smith
The Mustangs looked impressive in their season opener as they downed the Lady Lions in straight sets by scores of 25-19, 27-25 and 25-13.

The Mustang offense was led by Eisha Oden's 12 kills and Megan Larson's 42 assists. Abbey Thissen dropped in 10 kills on 25 attempts, while Whitney Burmeister and Kaylee Burmeister each chipped in 12 digs to lead the Mustangs defensively.

The Mustangs finished the match hitting .313 on 115 swings with 47 kills and just 11 errors.

UAFS (1-1) finished the 2014 season 29-5 overall and were eliminated in the NCAA Final Four.

SMSU vs. West Florida
Abbey Thissen and Eisha Oden rallied the troops to lead a thrilling 5-set comeback victory. Down 2-1, Thissen and Oden led the Mustangs to set victories of 25-21 and 15-10 in sets four and five, respectively.

Thissen's 18 kills were a match high. With match point at 14-10, Claire Sames rose high above the net from the outside and capped the rally by sending her attack to the floor for her 14th kill of the match. Oden finished with 15 kills, while Sarah Parker contributed 11 kills to the offensive attack.

The Mustangs overcame 28 attack errors in the match, 17 of which came in the set losses. SMSU hit .474 in the decisive fifth set.

UWF racked up 20 block assists to go along with three solo blocks.

The Mustangs will continue tournament aciton tomorrow facing Saint Leo (Fla.) at 9 a.m., and cap off the weekend with Missouri-St. Louis at 4:30 p.m.