MARSHALL, Minn. –  In a battle of Top 10 teams, the No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team reeled off three straight set victories to earn a 20-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-20 over No. 6 St. Cloud State inside the PE Gym on Friday night.
As a result, SMSU is now 6-1 in the NSIC, 13-2 overall, while SCSU drops to 6-2 in the conference, 13-4 overall.
The Mustangs were led offensively by a trio of power-hitters.
Emma VanHeel led the squad in kills, tallying 13 with only one attacking error on 23 total attempts (.522).
Karli Arkell and
Leah Jones each recorded 12 kills, with Arkell hitting around 41 percent, and Jones hitting 20 percent. Jones also added seven digs on defense. The rest of the team combined for 14 kills from four players.
SMSU was anchored defensively in the match by
Alisa Bengen and
McKenzie Tolk. The duo combined for 21 digs tonight, with Bengen dishing out 40 assists and securing two total blocks. Tolk spaced the floor for the Mustangs, adding three assists to the team total.
Four Mustangs notched at least three block assists on the front line, with
Ashley Peltier grabbing a team-high of three. Bengen and Jones were the only Mustangs to record a service ace tonight.
Set one saw the Huskies take advantage of a seemingly sluggish SMSU, leading by eight points at one point. SMSU battled late in the set, pushing for a comeback fueled by VanHeel and Bengen. SCSU eventually took the set by a score of 25-20, following kills by Kenzie Foley and Natalie Tesch.
The Mustangs battled back with authority in the second set, winning 25-17. The Huskies were plagued by errors in the set, tallying a total of 10 errors, and hitting a negative attack percentage.
Karli Arkell swung for three-straight kills for SMSU to give them the win.
Set three was back-and-forth, with neither team willing to go down in the match. The score eventually pushed to 11-11. VanHeel and Jones pushed the SMSU effort, tallying kills in between Husky points. SMSU pulled ahead late, utilizing energy gained off a SCSU error, before finishing off the job with a kill by
Emma VanHeel kill.
The final set displayed the Mustangs' confidence on their home floor. Over 850 fans cheered SMSU to victory in the heavyweight bout. After halting at a score of 8-8, SMSU went on a thrilling run, scoring eight of the next 10 points.
UP NEXT
SMSU continues its tough homestand on Saturday facing No. 11 Minnesota Duluth at 2 p.m.
