Box Score

MARSHALL,  Minn. - Junior setter Megan Larson set a career-high 67 assists to lead No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State University to a five-set comeback win over No. 7 Winona State on Saturday afternoon in a crucial Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match from the PE Gym. SMSU took the match with set scores of 25-20, 17-25, 16-25, 25-22 and 20-18. With the win, SMSU improves to 14-3 overall and 8-1 in the NSIC, while WSU drops to 15-3 overall and 6-3 in the NSIC.

Larson's previous career-high was 61 vs. Northern State on Oct. 24, 2015. Larson finished with 67 assists and 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.

Larson powered the Mustang offense to 73 kills on 199 swings (.246). Taylor Reiss led the Mustangs with a match-high 25 kills in the win, while Sarah Parker racked up 18, Eisha Oden had 16 and Kaylee Burmeister added 10 of her own. Burmeister and Larson were the lone Mustangs to record a double-double -- Burmeister finished with 21 digs and 10 kills, while Larson had 10 digs and 67 assists. Freshman libero Amber Messner had a team-high 24 digs in the win. Messner's 24 digs were a career high -- she recorded 23 digs vs. Lewis earlier this season.

SMSU came out of the gate hot as the Mustangs slammed home 20 kills on 44 attacks in the first set with just three errors. Parker and Reiss each had six kills and no errors to lead the Mustangs to a 25-20 set win. Leading 17-16, SMSU took four of the next six points to grow its lead to 21-18. Leading 23-20, Oden and Brooke Borchardt denied a Taylor Goar attack before Burmeister slammed home a kill to end the set.
 
SMSU couldn't sustain the momentum in set two as the Warriors took the first five points. SMSU battled back – tying the game at 5-5 and 8-8 but was overmatched as the Warriors went on a 5-0 run to take a 13-8 lead. Errors were the demise of the Mustangs in set two as they combined for eight compared to just three in the first frame. SMSU was held to a modest .119 hitting percentage and a 41% (10-24) sideout, while the Warriors hit .342 and converted sideouts at a 61% (11-18) clip.
 
In the third set, WSU used a 9-2 run to start the set that surged the Warriors to a 25-16 set win. Three Mustang attack errors contributed to the Warrior run and Goar's heavy attack from behind the 10-foot line with WSU leading 24-16 closed the set and gave the Warriors a 2-1 match lead.
 
SMSU led 10-4 in set four but four straight Warrior points cut the lead to 10-8 and forced a Mustang timeout. The Warriors would eventually tie the set up at 11 and again at 20 before SMSU closed the set on a 5-2 win to even up the match. 
 
The fifth set was tight throughout as the two talented teams jockied for position. WSU was the first to break as SMSU put together a 3-0 to take a 9-7 lead after falling behind 7-6. WSU wouldn't go away as the Warriors put together a 4-0 run out of a timeout to take an 11-9 lead. McKenna Larsen's kill gave WSU match point, but SMSU fended off two straight match points and forced the game back to even at 14. Leading 15-14, the Mustangs got their first crack at match point following a big kill from Oden but came up empty. The Mustangs would hold match point at 16-15, 17-16, 18-17 and 19-18 before Burmeister came up huge in the clutch to finally put the wounded Warriors away with a service ace. SMSU took the fifth and final set by a score of 20-18 to give the Mustangs its first five-set win on the season. The only other five-set match SMSU played this season was a 3-2 loss to Augustana on Sept. 15. 

SMSU has now won eight straight matches dating back to Sept. 15, and now have won four straight at home. SMSU's consecutive set winning streak was snapped at 16 sets by the Warriors' 25-17 win in set 2. 

After this 4-0 homestand, SMSU will now hit the road for three straight starting next Friday, Oct. 14, when the Mustangs battle Concordia-St. Paul in a huge conference tilt. SMSU will then travel to Minnesota State the following day.