CROOKSTON, Minn. – The No. 8-ranked Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs volleyball team opened their weekend with authority, defeating Minnesota Crookston 25-14, 25-15, 25-11 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Meg Schmidt led the way with nine kills while committing zero attack errors and hitting .643. Saari Kuehl added eight kills, while Emma VanHeel picked up seven kills and five digs. Abby Meister led the backline with 11 digs while picking up two aces, while Natalee Rolbiecki recorded nine digs. 
 
The Mustangs offense started on fire and never slowed down. SMSU scored 10 of the first 12 points, with Kuehl, Schmidt, and Meister leading the charge. Three Kuehl kills, two Schmidt kills, and a pair of Meister aces led the way early, with the Mustangs' lead hovering over five points the rest of the way. The Mustangs hit at .324, while limiting UMC to .121.
 
Set two was all, SMSU as the Mustangs scored 11 of the first 13, 18 of the first 23, and 21 of the first 31 points en route to a 10-point victory in the set. SMSU hit .314 with 16 kills in the set, while Crookston hit .000 and picked up six kills.
 
SMSU wrapped up the match with a display of dominance in set three, with an 8-4 lead ballooning to 22-8 in the blink of an eye. Katelyn Nichols ended the match with a pair of kills, helping the Mustangs hit .517 on the set, while holding the Golden Eagles to -.115. 
 
Alisa Bengen paced the offense with 28 assists and added five kills and six digs of her own.
 
SMSU closes their weekend on Saturday afternoon, playing at Bemidji State at 1 p.m.