Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. - Eisha Oden tallied a match-high 16 kills to pace No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State University to a sweep of No. 11 Northern State University in a pivotal Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match on Friday night from the PE Gym.
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Oden finished the match with 16 kills on 27 swings for an efficient .519 hitting percentage. Taylor Reiss and Kaylee Burmeister contributed to the offensive attack by chipping in 15 and 10 kills, respectively.

Reiss gave SMSU a fast start as the sophomore slammed home five kills in the first set as the Mustangs cruised to a 25-12 set win.

SMSU would take the second set 27-25 and head into the break with a 2-0 match lead, but it wasn't without a strong NSU effort. Down 21-18, the Wolves rattled off three points to tie the set at 21. The Mustangs would take the lead again, but the Wolves would tie it at 23, 24 and 25 before Reiss and Oden connected on consecutive kills to give SMSU a 27-25 win.  

It was Oden that shined in the third set, powering the Mustangs to a 25-20 win to give SMSU its eighth sweep of the season. In the set, Oden notched seven kills on 10 attacks with no errors. She finished with a match-high 16 kills which tied a season-high mark.

SMSU finished with 50 kills with NSU only managing 33. The Mustangs matched a season-high with 10 services aces in the straight set win.

The win was SMSU's fifth straight victory and 22^nd straight over the Wolves. SMSU is now an impressive 55-9 all-time versus Northern State.

The Mustangs (11-3, 5-1 NSIC) will take on MSU Moorhead (6-8, 1-5 NSIC) tomorrow from the PE Gym. First serve is set for 3 p.m. MSUM is coming off a loss in straight sets to The University of Sioux Falls.