MARSHALL, Minn. -  In a battle of two Top 10 teams, No. 1 Wayne State rallied to win the final two sets and earn a thrilling 3-2 victory over No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State in front of more than 1,300 fans inside the PE Gym on Saturday afternoon.

As a result, SMSU drops to 9-2 overall, and is now 2-1 in the NSIC. WSC increases its overall record to 11-1 and jumps to 3-0 in the NSIC.

Leading the way for the Mustangs were Karli Arkell and Emma VanHeel, with both tallying 14 kills and hitting .367 and .344, respectively. Supporting the attack was freshman Leah Jones, tallying 11 kills of her own, while putting up two block assists and 11 digs. Saari Kuehl
rounded out the top Mustang attackers, recording 10 kills and five digs.

SMSU was backed defensively by McKenzie Tolk, who scored 21 digs and captured eight assists, while grabbing two service aces. Her defensive counterparts on the floor were Jones and Alisa Bengen.

Bengen posted an astounding 52 assists in her effort, pacing the Mustangs offense. She recorded 15 digs and six attacks on an incredible .667 percentage.

The trio of VanHeel, Kusler, and Jones put up the Mustang wall tonight. Vanheel captured a team-high three blocks, while Kusler and Jones tallied two apiece.

Wayne State was led offensively by Maggie Brahmer, who posted 20 kills on just 37 attempts, hitting .459 in the match. Kelsie Cada and Taya Beller also stood out for Wayne State. Beller posted a .500 hitting percentage on 13 kills with only one error. Cada had 17 kills on 39 attempts with no errors, hitting a comfortable .436.

WSC was defensively anchored by Rachel Walker, who captured 53 digs and four blocks in the win. Wayne's front line was captained by Beller, who posted a whopping seven total blocks. Brahmer captured four blocks in addition.

The match saw Wayne State defeat Southwest Minnesota State for the first time at home since 2019, when the Wildcats swept SMSU. The match also highlighted the Mustangs' first set loss in eight matches.

The Wildcats posted just eight errors in the match, out-hitting SMSU by 14 percent. Wayne out-paced SMSU in every box score stat, tallying 74 digs to the Mustangs' 73. Additionally, Wayne State posted 12 total blocks, tripling SMSU's effort at the net.

UP NEXT

The Mustangs travel to Minot, N.D. on Friday, Sept. 29, to face off with Minot State for more conference action at 6 p.m.

Following its trip to Minot, SMSU volleyball will travel to Bismarck, N.D., where it will play UMary at 2 p.m., on Sept. 30