BEMIDJI, Minn.--The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team got the work done with ease against Bemidji State on Friday evening, winning by scores of 25-18, 25-18, 25-22. With the win, the Mustangs have now won 22 matches in Bemidji, and are on a three match winning streak.
As a result, the Mustangs improve to 17-3 on the season, 9-2 in the NSIC, while BSU drops to 8-11 overall, 5-6 NSIC. SMSU hit .264 in the match, in comparison to .163 posted by the Beavers.
A plethora of Mustang attackers sealed the deal for SMSU tonight.
Leah Jones hit for 12 kills on .179 hitting, while also grabbing one ace and one block assist.
Saari Kuehl secured 10 kills on the front line on just 21 attempts for .429 hitting.
Brooklyn Kusler smashed six kills on .227 hitting, with one service ace.
Emma VanHeel hit an impressive .750 (7-1-8), while tallying one block assist and two assists.
Alisa Bengen paced the SMSU offense with 32 assists tonight. Bengen added 11 digs on the back line and contributed two total blocks, and one ace in the win.
McKenzie Tolk and Natalee Rolbiekci held down the Mustangs back line this evening. Tolk recorded 18 digs in her effort, while adding one ace and three assists on offense. Rolbiecki secured six digs, with a team-high three service aces.
Top blockers for SMSU were
Brooklyn Kusler and
Karli Arkell. Arkell grabbed a team-high four total blocks, while Kusler tied the team-high with four of her own.
Alisa Bengen added two blocks of her own.
Set one of the match was back-and-forth for the majority of play. SMSU struck first off a kill from
Karli Arkell, followed by a BSU attacking error to go up 2-0 right away. The Mustangs and Beavers would then trade the next 25 points, with kills from VanHeel and Jones, while BSU had attackers Ashley Crowl and Hallie Mertz swinging for kills on the other side. The score would eventually push to 21-18 when BSU took its final timeout. The Mustangs would snag the final four points with ease, following three-straight kills from
Leah Jones, taking the set 25-18. SMSU hit .303 in the set, compared to just .133 by BSU.
Set two began with a BSU score. A handful of the first ten points in the set were called questionably, however the Mustangs prevailed by battling the score to 6-6 off a kill from Jones. SMSU would go on a 7-0 run backed by a Kusler killing spree and multiple Beaver attacking errors, gliding to a score of 14-8. The Beavers would push for a comeback, fueled by kills from Rylie Bjerklie, but would be stopped short by the Mustangs counter-attack. SMSU would regain service possession late in the set and would never look back, tallying six of the last ten points in the game. An attacking error by Hallie Mertz would end the set, giving SMSU the 25-18 win.
Set three would begin with BSU nabbing three of the first four points. SMSU would score eight of the next 11 points, stemming from kills by Jones and Kuehl, taking the advantage 11-6. The Mustangs would jump out to a 19-13 lead before a critical BSU 6-3 run. With the score eventually settling at 23-21, the Mustangs would bury the Beavers in quick fashion, following two crucial kills from Kuehl, winning the set 25-23, and ending the match in a sweep.
UP NEXT
The Mustangs head to Crookston, Minn., tomorrow for a match against the UMC Golden Eagles, at 2 p.m.
