MARSHALL, Minn. – No. 14 Southwest Minnesota State closed out the weekend with authority, defeating No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul 25-22, 20-25, 25-18, 25-11 on Saturday afternoon in the PE Gym.
 
SMSU advances to 17-4 overall with a 9-4 record in the NSIC while CSP moves to 18-4 overall and 12-1 in the NSIC. The last time SMSU defeated CSP was a four-set home victory on Oct. 26, 2018.
 
Angela Young was feeling it early and often, delivering 26 kills and 12 digs to lead the Mustangs. Meg Schmidt added 17 kills while hitting .441 to help boost the offense. Payton Hjerleid led the team defensively, digging out 17 attacks while adding a career-high 10 assists to help pace the offense. Sophie Johnson led the team with a career-high 26 assists

Set one set the tone for the match, with the teams trading points throughout. Young would collect three kills in the team's first five points, while Schmidt would add four kills in the first 14 Mustang points. CSP would eventually build a 20-17 lead, but the momentum would shift in the SMSU direction. After narrowing the deficit to 22-20, SMSU would go on a 5-0 run to close the set and get the PE Gym rocking.
 
Set two would tell a similar story, as the two teams would continue battling for each point. Every CSP lead would close into a tie, but SMSU just couldn't find a way to take a lead. After a Young kill to cut CSP's lead to 22-20, CSP would pick up a pair of kills before a SMSU error to tie the game at one set apiece.
 
The third set, although close throughout, would be when the Mustangs would pick up steam. After going down 4-1, SMSU would mount a 7-1 run to take an 8-5 lead. CSP would cut the lead to 9-8, but three-straight Mustang points would separate. CSP would again cut the lead down to 13-11, but a 6-1 SMSU run would separate the two even more. After a 3-0 CSP run to close the gap to 19-15, Schmidt and Katelyn Nichols would each pick up a pair of kills to stretch the lead out to 23-15. CSP would score three of the next five points, but would prove too little too late for the set.
 
After CSP took a 4-3 lead to start set four, The Mustangs put the pedal to the metal. A 16-1 run for the Mustangs deflated the Golden Bears, whose 11 points in set four was their lowest total in a 25-point set this season. The run was a mixture of kills from Young, Nichols and Schmidt, who would combine for nine kills in the 16 points, with Young adding a pair of service aces. The Mustangs would finish the set hitting a staggering .484 while holding CSP to .036.
 
Nichols would finish the game with nine kills and three blocks, while Alisa Bengen would add 11 assists and eight digs.
 
SMSU outhit CSP .314-.207 on the day, while recording 66 kills to the CSP 47.
 
SMSU heads to Sioux Falls to take on the Cougars on Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. before coming home to host Wayne State on Oct. 30 at 1 p.m.