CROOKSTON, Minn. – The No. 17 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team returned to the win column inside Lysaker Gymnasium on Friday night with a 3-0 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Minnesota Crookston.
 
SMSU, now 14-7 overall, 7-6 NSIC, won by scores of 25-15, 25-14 and 25-18. UMC drops to 6-15, 0-13 NSIC.
 
Paige Steinmetz paced the SMSU offense with a career-high 11 kills on 26 attacks for a .308 hitting percentage, while Ashley Peltier hit a career-high .588 with 10 kills and zero errors on 17 attacks. Leah Jones added nine kills and 13 digs, while Natalie Pilney chipped in with seven kills to help a balanced Mustang attack.
 
Sydney Thein dished out 37 assists and added seven digs for the Mustangs with teammate McKenzie Tolk recording a match-high 19 digs. Kennedy Drake and Ashlynn Schroeder each closed with 10 digs.
 
SMSU closed the match hitting .300 (47-11-120), while UMC hit .089 (27-16-124).
 
Madison Carsten, who closed with a team-high 10 kills, while adding eight digs, led the Golden Eagles.
 
SMSU used a 5-0 run in the opening set, capped by a Jones service ace, to build a 9-4 advantage. SMSU would later lead 20-15 before Peltier smacked three kills to help a 5-0 run and give the Mustangs a 25-15 win. The Mustangs were solid defensively in the set limiting the Golden Eagles to a -.022 hitting percentage.
 
It was all SMSU in the second set with the Mustangs jumping out to a 6-1 lead before using a 10-1 run later in the set to extend the margin to 17-4. SMSU would finish the set hitting .433 in earning the 25-14 win.
 
Set three was much closer before SMSU pulled away late to move to 41-1 all-time in the series. Tied at 17, the Mustangs went on another 5-0 run to lead 22-17. Following a UMC kill, Jones recorded back-to-back kills, while Peltier closed the match with one final kill to close the set, 25-18.
 
SMSU continues the weekend on Saturday with a 2 p.m. match at MSU Moorhead.