MANKATO, Minn. – The No. 7-ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team survived a scare in their first conference road match of the season, defeating Minnesota State 23-25, 25-12, 25-16, 25-27, 15-3 on Friday night.
The win moved the Mustangs to 11-0 for the second consecutive year, tying last year's team for the second most wins to start a season in program history.
The loss moves the Mavericks to 1-10 on the season, 0-3 in NSIC action.
Four Mustangs recorded double digit kills, with
Meg Schmidt (15),
Emma VanHeel (13),
Karli Arkell (12), and
Halle Jansen (11) leading the offense.
Alisa Bengen was solid in the set-up game, racking up 51 assists and nine digs.
McKenzie Tolk led the back-line with 26 digs, while VanHeel and Arkell combined for nine blocks up front.
After splitting the first four points, the Mavericks jumped ahead 5-2 early thanks to three consecutive unforced errors by the Mustangs. The Mustangs battled back, tying the match at 5-5 before trading point for point until the 19-19 mark.
MSU pulled away with three straight points, but the Mustangs countered with four in a row to take a 23-22 lead. The Mavericks closed the match scoring the final three points to complete a comeback win in set one.
The Mustangs only trailed once in set two, with the score 1-0 MSU, in a commanding second set. SMSU would go on runs of three points twice and a run of four points, while never allowing MSU to score more than two points in a row to even the match at 1-1.
After leading 8-7 to open set three, the Mustangs scored five points in a row, capped by a
Natalee Rolbiecki ace, to lead 13-7. MSU closed the gap to as little as four at 20-16, But five straight points, again ended by a Rolbiecki ace, gave SMSU the 2-1 lead into set four.
MSU led for most of the fourth set, leading by as many as seven at 14-7 and leading as late as 20-18 before a trio of Mustang kills to give SMSU a 21-20 lead. The teams would trade points until 25-25, as a pair of Maverick points closed the set and sent the match into a fifth set.
The Mustangs controlled set five, scoring the first four points, six of the first seven, 12 of the first 14, and 15 of 18 to take the set. Schmidt opened the set with three straight kills to jumpstart the offense, leading the way to victory.
The Mustangs head to St. Paul for a match-up against the No. 5-ranked Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
