MOORHEAD, Minn. – The No. 17 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (15-6, 8-6 NSIC) defeated the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons (13-9, 7-7 NSIC) Saturday afternoon in three sets 25-21, 25-23, 25-20.
 
The Mustangs were led in kills by Leah Jones with 14, who also had six digs. Ashley Peltier was the other Mustang in double digit kills with 10, while hitting .261 on the match. Karli Arkell added eight kills and hit .238. Sydney Thein led the team in both assists and digs with 34 and 13 respectively. Natalie Pilney led the team in blocks with six solo blocks, the most by a Mustang this season.
 
SMSU as a team hit .179 on the match (41-19-123) while the Dragons, who were led in kills by Raiah Mandell with eight, hit .115 (34-21-115).
 
In the first set the Mustangs led the set 10-5, and despite the Dragons efforts to keep the set close, the Mustangs prevailed from three straight kills from Leah Jones and five blocks from the team in the set. The Mustangs hit .233 in the set with 15 kills, while holding the Dragons to a .075 hitting percentage, and SMSU won the set 25-21.
 
After the Mustangs gained an 11-7 lead in the second set before an 8-2 run for MSUM gave the Dragons the lead 15-13. SMSU kept themselves in the set, and with the Dragons leading 18-16, the Mustangs went on a 5-1 run led by Karli Arkell with two kills. The Mustangs ended the set on a 4-1 run, and took the second set 25-23.
 
With the Dragons holding a 7-6 advantage in the third set, the Mustangs exploded on an 8-2 run with two kills from both Leah Jones and Natalie Pilney. Later in the set the Dragons went on a 6-1 run of their own, tying the set at 20. But the Mustangs countered with their own 5-0 run, which would win the Mustangs the set, with Leah Jones ending the match with back to back kills. SMSU hit .237 in the set, and won 25-20.
 
The Mustangs are back in Marshall next weekend, facing No. 18 ranked Minnesota Duluth on Friday, Oct. 31, at 6 p.m. in the PE Gym for the team's Heart Disease Awareness match. SMSU then faces Bemidji State the following day at 2 p.m., also in the PE Gym. Both matches will be streaming live on the NSIC Network. Tickets for those matches and more information can be found at smsumustangs.com/sports/womens-volleyball.