BEMIDJI, Minn.- The No. 8-ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (13-1 overall, 5-1 NSIC) defeated Bemidji State (3-11, 2-4) 25-11, 25-19, 25-17 on Saturday afternoon. 
 
For the second consecutive match, Meg Schmidt recorded nine kills and zero attack errors, hitting .563 in the process.  Karli Arkell added nine kills of her own on a .571 percentage, while Saari Kuehl picked up seven kills and four digs.  Alisa Bengen led the team with 29 assists, while her and Rachel Fink led the defense with nine digs apiece.  
 
The first set was all Mustangs from start to finish. SMSU held leads of 9-3, 14-5, 17-6, and 21-10 throughout the set, and ended the set with four straight points, including a block and a kill from VanHeel. The Mustangs committed just one attack error in the set, picking up 12 kills and hitting .314, while BSU was held to a .000 hitting percentage. 
 
The Mustangs carried momentum into the early stages of set two, scoring the first three points and leading 4-1, but the Beavers marched back, tying the set at 6-6. With the score at 15-15, SMSU started to pull away, scoring four of the next five points to lead 19-16. BSU came back to trail 21-18, but another 4-1 Mustang run would hand them a 2-0 lead into set three. 
 
SMSU sent a message to open the third set, scoring seven of 10 to open it up and eventually growing the lead to 20-12. BSU scored a pair of match points to trail 24-17, but a Brooklyn Kusler kill closed out the undefeated road weekend. 
 
SMSU will be back home Friday, Sept. 30, hosting No. 9 Minnesota Duluth at 6 p.m. inside the PE Gym.