Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn.- Southwest Minnesota State had nine service aces and 10 total team blocks on its way to a 25-20, 25-20, 25-17 sweep of seventh seeded Sioux Falls in the NSIC quarterfinals.

Taylor Reiss had a double-double on 16 kills and 12 digs and Megan Larson contributed four service aces and had 39 assists as the second seeded Mustangs won its fifth consecutive match overall.
 
The Mustangs suffered from its second most service errors of the season (13) but also had service aces from four different Mustang players. Reiss contributed two aces  as did Kaylee Burmeister who also 12 kills to make it six of the last eight matches in which she's reached double figures in kills. Eisha Oden finished with six kills on just 12 attacks and recorded four blocks while Brooke Borchardt posted a season high five kills coming off of the SMSU bench.
 
SMSU hit .352 as a team and had 71 percent sideout percentage (42-of-59) to fend off a Sioux Falls team that appeared to be a threat to the Mustangs' semifinal birth at times throughout the night.
 
Nerves may have gotten the best of the Mustangs as five of the first six points for USF came off of service errors and one hitting error from SMSU. SMSU would finish with six service errors in the first set and there were twelve tied scores before the Mustangs went on a 5-0 run to win the first set 25-20.
 
SMSU got off to a strong start in the second set but Sioux Falls used a 4-0 run to even the set at 9-9. The Cougars had their best sideout percentage of the night (60 percent) to keep the second set close, but the Mustangs closed out strongly again. Holding a slim 20-19 advantage in the set, NSIC Coach of the Year, Terry Culhane, called a timeout which was followed by a 5-1 run by SMSU to go up two sets with another 25-20 win in the second. After posting just one kill in the first, Burmeister exploded with five kills on eight attacks in the second and also picked up one service ace in the set.
 
After giving up the first point of the third set, the Mustangs quickly took control with a 6-2 run to start the set and never trailed again to close out the match. SMSU had its highest hitting percentage of the night (.500) in the third set but Sioux Falls didn't go away easy. The Cougars fended off four straight match points before a kill from Sarah Parker closed out the 25-17 win for SMSU.
 
With the win the Mustangs advance to the NSIC semifinals where they will face sixth seeded Wayne State this Saturday at noon on the campus of top seeded Concordia-St. Paul in St. Paul, Minn.