SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The No. 7 Mustang volleyball team won three consecutive sets to capture a 3-1 win over Rockhurst (Mo.) on Friday afternoon on day two of the Drury Invitational.

SMSU improves to 6-0 on the year while Rockhurst drops to 3-2. 

Four Mustangs each posted double-digit kills to lead the SMSU offense with Emma VanHeel leading the way recording 16 kills on .341 hitting. Saari Kuehl added 14 kills and a pair of service aces, while Leah Jones and Karli Arkell recorded 13 and 10 kills, respectively . Sydney Thein paced the offense with her fifth double-double in six matches, logging a career-high 53 assists and 17 digs. The Mustangs collected 108 digs on the day, with McKenzie Tolk collecting a career-high 29. It is the first time the Mustangs have recorded over 100 digs since Nov. 2, 2018 at Upper Iowa (102).

SMSU recorded 11 blocks at the net.

A trio of hitters in Sarah Pyle, Tera Reberry, and Kenzie Hines combined for 45 kills to lead the Hawks offense. RU logged 11 blocks and 96 digs on defense.
 
Rockhurst brought the energy right away to jump out to an 8-5 lead before SMSU rattled off five straight points backed by a pair of kills from VanHeel to take a 10-8 lead. The Hawks battled back to an 11-11 tie but the Mustangs kept their foot on the gas to force a timeout halfway through the set. Coming out of the timeout, RU pursued a 8-1 run to reclaim a four-point lead. The Hawks controlled the remainder of the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

SMSU came out of the gates swinging in set two to take an early 7-3 lead and force a Hawks timeout. SMSU kept its foot on the gas and never looked back in pursuing the 25-17 victory in game two. The Mustangs limited Rockhurst to .224 hitting in the second set.

The Hawks three quick kills and an attacking error to lead 4-1 early in the set before the Mustangs scored the following six points to push the score to 7-4. Neither team was willing to give up in the crucial third game, eventually settling the score at 18-17 in favor of the Mustangs. SMSU scored eight of the next 12 points to close the set and take the 2-1 lead.

The Hawks used five kills and a handful of SMSU attacking errors to take a quick 15-8 lead in the fourth frame. The Mustangs would not go away, rallying to score eight of the following nine points to tie the game at 16-16. A kill and pair of attacking errors on the Hawks gave SMSU a two-point lead before a swing of momentum in RU's direction would seemingly lead to a win and force a fifth set. However, the Mustangs scored three straight points to take the set and match. 

The Mustangs will face Southern Nazarene (Okla.) later tonight with match time set for 7 p.m.