BISMARCK, N.D. – The No. 11 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (13-3, 7-2 NSIC) earned a 3-0 victory over UMary (4-13, 2-7 NSIC) on Saturday morning at the McDowell Activity Center, winning by set scores of 25-16, 25-15 and 25-12.
Natalie Pilney led SMSU offensively with 10 kills while hitting .533, while Leah Jones and Lindsay Kruse added nine kills, with Kruse hitting .615. Mollie Rupp contributed eight kills and hit .583, while Ashley Peltier added seven kills.
Sydney Thein directed the Mustang offense with 24 assists and added four digs, while Tatem Schmidt recorded 20 assists and six digs. Mya Krystosek contributed four kills, two service aces and led the Mustangs with seven digs, while Paige Steinmetz added three aces and four digs.
As a team, the Mustangs hit .490 on the match (57-10-96). The .490 mark is the third highest in a match since 2000. UMary, led by Judith Burke with eight kills, hit .236 (25-8-72) as a team.
SMSU controlled the opening set from the start, taking a 4-0 lead, and eventually extending their advantage to 13-8. SMSU moved ahead 19-12 before closing the set on a 6-2 run. Pilney delivered multiple kills during the late stretch as SMSU secured a 25-16 set victory.
The Mustangs carried their momentum into the second set, building an 8-3 advantage before extending the lead to 12-3 with a 5-0 run. UMary responded with three straight points, but SMSU continued to control the set and led 17-6. After the Marauders answered with a small run of their own, the Mustangs answered with three straight points and went on to close out the set 25-15 on a kill from Josie Pundt.
SMSU opened the third set with a 4-1 lead, but UMary responded with a 4-0 run to take a 5-4 advantage. With the score tied at nine a-piece, SMSU scored seven straight points to take a 16-9 lead, with Krystosek recording a service ace during the run. The Mustangs continued to pull away, scoring five straight points to move ahead 21-10 before closing the match 25-12 on another kill by Pundt.
SMSU travels back to Marshall next weekend, facing Jamestown on Friday at 6 p.m., and Northern State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
