ABERDEEN, S.D. – The No. 16 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (18-6, 11-6 NSIC) defeated the No. 22 ranked Northern State Wolves (18-7, 10-7 NSIC) on Friday night in four sets, 25-17, 26-24, 27-29, 25-21.
Leah Jones led the Mustangs with 24 kills, the second highest kills in her career, while hitting .292 with 12 digs, her fourth double double on the season.
Ashley Peltier had 19 kills, her highest this season since facing Spring Hill (Ala.) in the opening match and hit .349.
McKenzie Tolk led the team in digs with 24, while
Kennedy Drake had a career night, with 21 digs.
Sydney Thein had 62 assists, her second highest total this season, adding 12 digs to her night.
The Mustangs as a team hit .256 (74-22-203) while the Wolves, who were led in kills by Linnea Nesheim with 20, hit .251 (62-16-183).
In set one the Mustangs started hot, leading 7-3, and eventually 14-7 through three kills from
Leah Jones. SMSU extended their lead, at one point leading 23-14, and won the first set with ease, 25-17. The Mustangs hit .333 in the set with 15 kills and three blocks.
SMSU started set two in a similar fashion to set one, but the Wolves kept the set close throughout. With the Mustangs up 20-16, the Wolves went on a 7-1 run to lead the set 23-21. But SMSU returned the favor with four straight points capped off by another
Leah Jones kill, winning the set 26-24.
In the third set, no team had a lead larger than three points. With the Wolves up 22-19, the Mustangs battled back, taking 6 points of the next 9 possible to bring the match level at 25 a piece. However, the Wolves managed to fight off the Mustangs and force the match to a fourth set, winning 29-27.
The start of the fourth set was back and forth, with no team gaining an advantage of more than two points for a majority of the set. With the Mustangs leading 17-16, SMSU went on a 9-5 run to end the match with three kills from Jones, capping off the fourth set 25-21.
SMSU will travel west on Saturday, facing Jamestown at 12 p.m. The match will be streaming live on the NSIC Network, and more information can be found at smsumustangs.com/sports/womens-volleyball.
