MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (16-3, 10-2 NSIC) earned a 3-0 victory over Minnesota Crookston (3-17, 1-11 NSIC) on Friday evening at the PE Gym, winning by set scores of 25-11, 25-19 and 25-15.
Leah Jones led SMSU with 12 kills while hitting .348, while Paige Steinmetz added eight kills and hit .438. Mollie Rupp contributed seven kills without committing an attack error, finishing with a .700 hitting percentage. Natalie Pilney and Lindsay Kruse each added six kills, with Pilney hitting .545 and Kruse hitting .600.
Tatem Schmidt led the Mustang offense with 22 assists, while Sydney Thein added 20 assists. Ashlynn Schroeder paced the defense with 17 digs, while Steinmetz contributed 10 digs and two service aces. SMSU finished with five service aces and 54 digs.
The Mustangs delivered an efficient offensive performance, hitting .464 as a team (51-6-97). The mark of .464 is the second time this season SMSU has hit over .450 in a match, and ranks in the top 10 of a match attack percentage since 2000. Minnesota Crookston, led by Madison Carsten with seven kills and nine digs, hit 1.98 (30-10-101).
SMSU controlled the opening set from the start, jumping out to a 6-0 lead behind a strong offensive stretch. The Mustangs continued to build their advantage, moving ahead 15-4 before Minnesota Crookston attempted to respond. SMSU maintained its commanding lead down the stretch and closed out the set 25-11.
The second set was more competitive early, with the Mustangs establishing a 10-7 advantage before continuing to create separation. SMSU extended its lead to 17-11 and maintained control through the closing points. The Golden Eagles put together a late push, but the Mustangs secured the set 25-19 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
SMSU carried its momentum into the third set, overcoming an early back-and-forth stretch to build an advantage. With the score tied at 5-5, the Mustangs began to pull away, using a strong run to move ahead 12-6. SMSU continued to control the set and extended its lead to 22-13 before closing out the match with a 25-15 victory.
The Mustangs face Minnesota State Moorhead Saturday afternoon starting at 2 p.m. SMSU is hosting a 'Gameday Roundup' at the PE/BA paved parking lot beginning at 12 p.m.
