MARSHALL, Minn. – The No. 18 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team defeated the No. 21 ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Friday night in four sets, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22.
Leah Jones led the Mustangs with 20 kills, 15 of them in the first two sets, while hitting .234 and adding five digs.
Karli Arkell had her second highest kills total this season with 15, hitting .382 in the match.
Natalie Pilney had eight kills and three service aces.
McKenzie Tolk led the team in digs with 21, while freshman
Ashlynn Schroeder had 13 digs, and
Sydney Thein led the squad in assists with 43.
The Mustangs as a team hit .201 on the match (57-26-154) while the Bulldogs, who were led in kills by Mollie Rupp with 14, hit .180 (49-22-150).
The Bulldogs started the match on top 8-5 in the first set, before a 6-1 Mustangs run gave SMSU the lead 11-9. After a back and forth rally, SMSU went on a 7-1 run led by two kills from
Leah Jones, which ended the set in favor of the Mustangs 25-18.
After an event start to the second set, the Bulldogs scored five unanswered points giving UMD the lead 14-10. The Mustangs battled back, and eventually led the set 18-17, before the Bulldogs came back, outscoring SMSU 8-3, and won the set 25-21.
UMD got off to a hot start in the third set, leading 9-3, and eventually led 15-11. SMSU, through two kills by
Karli Arkell, fought back with a 6-1 run to lead 17-16. And while the Bulldogs score four straight points to take the lead back, the Mustangs stormed back, scoring eight unanswered with four kills from
Leah Jones, and took the third set 25-20.
The Mustangs took the fourth set by storm, leading 12-5 after an 11-3 run. The Bulldogs tried to mount a comeback to force a fifth set, but SMSU defended their lead, forcing the Bulldogs to hit just .158 in the set. SMSU scored three of the final four points, and won the deciding set 25-22.
The Mustangs are back in action Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. against Bemidji State in the PE Gym. The match will be streaming live on the NSIC Network. Tickets and more information can be found at smsumustangs.com/sports/womens-volleyball.
