Box Score

WINONA, Minn. – The No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team clinched a home playoff match with a four-set victory over Winona State on Saturday at McCown Gymnasium.
 
SMSU advances to 21-7 overall and 16-4 in the NSIC, while Winona drops to 13-15 overall and 10-10 in conference play in the Mustangs' four-set victory (29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18).

SMSU will host an opponent to be determined on Tuesday starting at 8 p.m. The official NSIC Tournament bracket will be announced on Saturday night. 
 
Taylor Reiss recorded a match-high 25 kills to extend the Mustangs' straight eight-match winning streak. Reiss recorded 17 digs for her second consecutive double-double. Emma Thomssen paced the Mustangs with 57 assists and Kaylee Burmeister led the match with 20 digs.
 
Set one had 15 tied scores and went to extended points as the Mustangs battled to overcome the Warriors, 29-27. The Mustangs earned their largest run of the set going for four unanswered points to gain a 16-12 advantage. WSU responded to tie the set after three Mustang errors and one kill to bring the set score to 16-16. Neither team gained more than a two-point advantage until the Warriors earned a 22-20 lead. The set then went point-for-point before the Mustangs delivered a kill from Angela Young and a Warrior error ended set one, 29-27.
 
With Burmeister at the line, the Mustangs opened set two with a 5-0 run and maintained a 13-7 lead until the Warriors earned a 6-0 run to tie the set at 13-13. The Warriors strung together another four unanswered points to go up 17-15. The Mustangs then tied the set with a kill from Reiss and a bad set from the Warriors. The Mustangs recorded two errors as the Warriors took set two, 25-23.
 
In set three, the Mustangs rallied to take the lead with their largest run of the set, a 4-0 run to earn a 16-9 lead. The Warriors were unable to regain the upper hand as the Mustangs recorded a match-high .390 hitting percentage as Reiss delivered eight of her 25 kills in the set and to inevitably end the set 25-21.
 
The Mustangs strung together several three point runs in set four to maintain the lead after the set was locked at 12-12. With the Mustangs at a 23-18 advantage in set four, the Warriors committed two errors to earn the Mustangs their set victory, 25-18 and take the match 3-1.
 
Southwest Minnesota State ends the regular season at 21-7 overall and tied for third in the conference with a 16-4. SMSU is ranked No. 7 in the second of three NCAA DII regional rankings, released on Wednesday afternoon, and ranked No. 9 in the latest AVCA Top-25 poll released on Monday.