Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – No. 16 Southwest Minnesota State triumphed over No. 1 Northern State for NSU's second loss of the season and the Mustangs fourth consecutive sweep of the season on Saturday in the PE Gym.
 
Saturday's victory advanced SMSU to 17-7 overall and 12-4 in conference play while NSU moves to 22-2 overall and 14-2 in the NSIC.
 
The last time the Mustangs defeated a No. 1 ranked team was at No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul on Nov. 19, 2017.
 
Taylor Reiss, just shy of earning her 2,000^th career kill, led the match with 29 kills to total 1,991 career kills. Reiss hit .448 with seven digs. Sarina Smith earned 11 kills with a .476 hitting percentage while Angela Young added 13 kills.
 
Emma Thomssen recorded 54 assists and seven digs to aid the Mustangs' 3-0 victory of the top-ranked Northern State while Erin Corrigan dished out 16 digs with three service aces to lead the Mustang defense.
 
The Mustangs' victory in set one was a battle until the very end. After having six chances to earn the set point, SMSU and NSU went back-and-forth until the Wolves committed two errors to end the set. Reiss recorded 13 of her 29 kills in the first set as the Mustangs earned a .308 hitting percentage. The dual in set one consisted of 15 tied scores and six lead changes as the Mustangs warded off the Wolves.
 
The Wolves gained a four-point lead in set two to go up 15-11 before the Mustangs closed in with five consecutive kills from Mustang hitters, Young, Jenna Walczak, Smith, and Emma Thomssen. The Mustangs were able to gain momentum and earn a 19-17 lead. The Mustangs held off the Wolves as Reiss delivered a set-ending kill to take set two, 25-22.
 
The Wolves were thwarted in the third set with a .053 team hitting percentage. Tied at 10-10, the Mustangs were able to point-for-point until earning a 4-0 run to go up 17-12. With the set score at 20-17, the Mustangs finished the match with a 5-0 run as the Wolves committed four errors and a kill from Reiss ended the match.
 
Today's victory over Northern State was the NSU's second loss of the season. The first was dealt by Minnesota Duluth in a five-set loss on Sept. 11.
 
No. 16 Southwest Minnesota State continues its four-match homestand on Friday hosting No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul at 6 p.m. and Minnesota State on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the PE Gym.