MARSHALL, Minn. – The No. 5-ranked Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team, fueled by 27 kills from Meg Schmidt and a career-high 62 assists from Alisa Bengen, earned a dramatic come-from-behind five-set victory over No. 1-ranked Wayne State on Saturday afternoon inside the PE Gym.
 
SMSU, who defeated a top-ranked opponent for the first time since 2018, won today's match 27-25, 20-25, 18-25, 25-18, 15-13.
 
SMSU would dominate the stat sheet, recording 31 more kills (81-50), 26 more digs (83-57), and two more aces (5-3), but the Wildcats were tough on the frontline defensively, out blocking SMSU 16-8 to keep them in the match. 
 
SMSU, which improves to 20-3 overall, 12-3 NSIC, handed WSC their first loss of the season, dropping them to 24-1 overall, 14-1 NSIC.
 
The Mustangs had four players reach double digit kills, with Halle Jansen (18), Saari Kuehl (14), and Karli Arkell (10) joining Schmidt on the attack. Bengen finished with seven kills and 11 digs to go along with her 62 assists. Natalee Rolbiecki was solid on the backline, recording a career-best 24 digs, while Abby Meister chipped in 12 of her own, and Rachel Fink added 11.
 
Taya Beller led the Wildcats with 19 kills and 10 blocks. 
 
SMSU jumped to a 14-11 lead early in set one, but WSC scored three points in a row to even the set at 14-14. Neither team led by more than two points the rest of the way, with the Wildcats holding set points at 24-23 and 25-24. The Mustangs would fend off the 25-24 deficit with three straight points, as Schmidt got two kills before collaborating with Arkell for a set-winning block to take a 1-0 lead. 
 
The top-ranked Wildcats wouldn't trail in set two, scoring three of the first four points, all on blocks, and leading by as many as six on their way to evening the match at 1-1. 
 
With SMSU leading 6-3 early on in set three, WSC took advantage of five Mustang errors and a kill to go from trailing by three to leading by three at 9-6. That run would be enough for the Wildcats to ride to a 2-1 lead, as their lead would never go below two the rest of the way. 
 
SMSU came out with urgency in set four, scoring five of the first seven points, and after WSC tied it at 5-5, scored 12 of the next 19 to take a 17-12 lead. The Wildcats closed the gap to 19-17, but the Mustang resilience showed in the end, scoring six of the final seven points, led by four kills and a block from Schmidt, to send the match to a fifth set. 
 
The fifth set would see plenty of runs, with WSC scoring four of the first five points, SMSU scoring the next three points, and the Wildcats scoring the next five points to give them a 9-4 lead. The Mustangs delivered the final long run of the match, scoring seven of the next eight points to lead 11-10. Leading 13-12, the Mustangs found themselves on the wrong side of a controversial scoring decision that tied the match at 13-13, but a WSC service error, followed by a Schmidt kill punctuated the afternoon as the Mustangs rode to glory. 
 
SMSU has a quick turnaround, traveling back to Sioux Falls, S.D., on Tuesday for a match against the Sioux Falls Cougars starting at 6 p.m.