MARSHALL, Minn. – The No. 4-seeded Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team was limited to .179 hitting in a 19-25, 25-20, 18-25, 20-25 loss to the No. 5-seeded Northern State Wolves in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday night.

SMSU drops to 23-5 on the season, while NSU jumps to 21-6 overall and advances to the NSIC semifinals to play the No. 1 seed, St. Cloud State. 

A trio of Mustang attackers swung for double-digit kills in the match. Emma VanHeel led the way with 18 kills on an efficient .368 hitting percentage and jumped up for four blocks. Ashley Peltier followed with 15 kills on .297 hitting and Leah Jones chipped in 10 kills. Jones added 13 digs for a double-double and jumped for three block assists. VanHeel became the 17th player in team history to reach 1,000 career kills and has now amassed 1,011 in her four-year career. 

Sydney Thein supported the offense with 48 assists. She also recorded a double-double with 16 digs on defense.

McKenzie Tolk led the SMSU defense with 24 digs while supporting offensively with a pair of assists and an ace.

Natalia Szybinska led the NSU offense with 20 kills on .450 hitting. Hanna Thompson followed by recording 15 kills and three digs. Keri Walker anchored the NSU offense with 42 assists, and Abby Meister led defensively with 25 digs.

The first set saw the Mustangs lead 5-3 before an NSU rally got the Wolves into the lead at 6-5. The team battled back and forth until a 17-14 NSU lead. Arkell and Jones knocked down kills to pull the Mustangs closer but the Wolves countered with four of the next six points to lead 21-18. SMSU scored one more point in the set but it would be its final score, as NSU pulled away to take game one.

The teams battled to open the second set until SMSU pulled away to lead 13-8. The Wolves shot back by scoring five of the following seven points. The run wouldn't last long, as SMSU rattled off the next six points to expand its lead to 21-13. NSU rallied to come within four points by a kill from VanHeel sealed the deal and tied the match at 1-1.

Northern State came out swinging in set three to lead 13-10 until SMSU used a combined four kills from VanHeel and Jones paired with two attacking errors to take a 16-13 lead. NSU countered with an 8-1 run to put the set out of reach and give the Wolves a 2-1 lead.

SMSU opened the fourth set with a 12-8 lead before NSU tied it at 15-15, then stormed ahead to lead 19-17. Krystosek would bat down a kill to shrink the margin to one but the Wolves refused to let up, taking the following three points to lead 22-18. Northern State closed out the match with a pair of kills and an ace.

It is the final match at the SMSU PE Gym for seniors Saari Kuehl and Emma VanHeel.

SMSU's fate is in the hands of the regional committee to secure a bid in the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show will air on Monday, Nov. 25, at 7:30 p.m.