MARSHALL, Minn.- The No. 13-ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (18-5, 10-5 NSIC) recovered from a slow start to defeat No. 11 Wayne State College (18-5, 11-4) 18-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-18 on Saturday afternoon inside the PE Gym.
 
Angela Young recorded a double-double with 19 kills and 10 digs, while Emma VanHeel continued her strong freshman campaign with 12 kills to lead the Mustangs on offense. Payton Hjerleid collected a season-high 22 digs while Katelyn Nichols knocked down eight attacks while adding nine kills and three aces to lead the team defensively. Meg Schmidt helped pace the offense with a career-high 27 assists to go with nine kills and seven digs.
 
The Mustangs would lead 10-9 through the first 19 points of the game, but the Wildcats recorded four consecutive kills to take a 13-10 lead that wouldn't be taken away. SMSU would get within one point of WSC at 14-13 and 15-14, but the Wildcats would fend off the Mustangs the rest of the set. Leading 18-16, the Wildcats picked up five unanswered points to open the set up. SMSU would be held in check offensively, hitting .093 to the .258 percentage of Wayne State.
 
SMSU would score three of the first four points of the second set before WSC would get it going offensively. A 10-4 run would give WSC an 11-7 lead before the Mustangs would catch fire. SMSU would take five of the next six points to tie the match at 12, and although WSC would score four of five to take a 16-13 lead, the SMSU would continue their momentum. A 9-2 SMSU run would give them a 22-18 lead before scoring three of the final five points to win the second set. 
 
After the Wildcats jumped to a 6-3 lead early in the third set, the Mustangs would gallop back, scoring nine of the next ten points to take a 12-7 lead. WSC would answer with four straight points of their own to cut the Mustang lead to 12-11. The teams would trade points until 16-14, when a service error on WSC would fuel a run that featured two kills by Young and three consecutive blocks to see the SMSU lead jump to 22-14. After a WSC point to make it 22-15, SMSU would close the set with three consecutive points to take a 2-1 lead into set four.
 
SMSU would leave the fourth set gate up 4-1 before a WSC flurry that would give them a 5-4 lead. The teams would go back and forth, amounting a 13-11 score in favor of the Mustangs before a 9-2 run for SMSU would give them a 22-13 lead that all but ended the WSC chances. WSC would battle back, cutting the SMSU lead to 23-18, but a Young kill and assisted block by
Brooklyn Kusler and Nichols would close the Wildcats out in four.
  
Kusler finished the match with five kills and a career-high five blocks to go with a career-high four digs to help the Mustangs to victory.
 
SMSU would out-kill WSC 60-39, while recording 11 aces to the five of WSC. The Mustangs would also outhit the Wildcats .226-.145.
 
SMSU continues their march through the NSIC with a match Tuesday at Augustana at 6 p.m.