SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The No. 13-ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team opened the Drury/Southwest Baptist Classic with a 21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 22-25, 15-7 victory against Missouri Western State on Friday afternoon on the campus of Drury University.
Saari Kuehl continued her strong start to 2022 with a career-high 20 kills in match one.
Emma VanHeel helped the attack with 16 kills, while
Halle Jansen added 13 kills and
Karli Arkell recorded 10 kills.
Meg Schmidt did a little of everything, recording 10 kills, six digs, and four blocks, while
Natalee Rolbiecki's 16 digs and Arkell's 7 blocks led the defense. SMSU's 75 kills were its most in a match since 2019, with
Alisa Bengen's career-high 62 assists helping establish the offense. Bengen and
McKenzie Tolk also pitched in defensively, recording 12 digs apiece.
After going down 3-0 to open set one, the Mustangs bounced back, scoring 11 of 14 points to take a 11-6 lead. SMSU led for most of the set, but after leading 19-15, MWSU charged back, scoring 10 of 12 points to close the first set with a 1-0 lead.
Set two looked to be the Griffons' early as they led 12-7, but nine unanswered points by the Mustangs put them up 16-12. After four straight points from MWSU, SMSU answered again, scoring six straight points to lead 22-16. The teams split the final six points, allowing the Mustangs to even the score at 1-1.
With the match tied at 6-6, SMSU pulled away, scoring 10 of 11 points to get in front 16-7. MWSU would close the gap to 20-14, but four straight kills put the Mustangs up 24-14 before closing the set out three points later.
The Griffons refused to go down in set four, scoring four straight points after trailing 8-6 and held the lead for the rest of the set. The Mustangs, trailing 24-17, went on a run, scoring five set points to close the gap to 24-22, but it was too much to overcome, forcing a deciding fifth set.
Set five was all Mustangs, scoring the first six points, 11 of 12, and 14 of 16 to take a commanding 14-2 lead, enough to withstand a five-point furry by MWSU and secure the victory in game one.
SMSU out-hit MWSU .317-.184. The Griffons out blocked the Mustangs 12-9 and recorded seven aces to the Mustangs' five, but SMSU would out-dig them 71-57 while recording 27 more kills.
The Mustangs will finish day one of the Drury/Southwest Baptist Classic at 5 p.m., Friday afternoon against host Drury.
