GOLDEN, Colo. – The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team began their season today, upsetting No. 10 Colorado Mesa 25-27, 25-18, 25-23, 25-21 on Friday at the Colorado School of Mines Classic. 
 
Angela Young led the way for the Mustangs, with 20 kills and six digs while Meg Schmidt added 16 kills, four blocks, and two aces. Alisa Bengen paced the squad with 47 assists, six digs, and a career-high seven kills. 
 
SMSU concluded the match with a .345 hitting percentage, while limiting Colorado Mesa to a .139 percentage. The Mustangs also collected 12 blocks to help lead them to victory. 
 
The Mustangs showed fight in their first game against Colorado Mesa, battling back after starting the first set down 9-3. SMSU went on a 8-4 run to close the gap, then traded points with the Mavericks before falling 27-25. The Mustangs outhit the Mavericks .194 to .186, but could not overcome the continuous offensive flurry from Colorado Mesa. 
 
The second set was a different story, with the Mustangs in leading for the entire set to win 25-18. SMSU held a .462 hitting percentage in set two, while also out-blocking the Mavericks 6-2. 
 
Set three was all Mavericks to start, going up 7-1 to start, and leading 14-7 before the Mustangs started to gallop. A 7-1 Mustang run cut the CMU lead to 15-14, and an 11-6 run when down 17-14 to close out the set at 25-23. 
 
The Mustangs closed it out in the fourth set, going down 8-3 before taking the game over. A 15-3 run after an SMSU timeout opened the floodgates, and iced the game with an Emma VanHeel kill and CMU attack error. 
 
Katelyn Nichols recorded four kills and nine blocks, and Emma VanHeel picked up nine kills, two aces, and two blocks in their first career match.
 
SMSU has now won five of its last six openers and are 15-2 in the Terry Culhane era. SMSU will take on Grand Valley State at 5 p.m. CDT to complete the opening day of the Colorado School of Mines Classic