MARSHALL, Minn. – The No. 12 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (14-3, 8-2 NSIC), on the night of the team's annual 'Red Out' match, earned a 3-1 victory over Jamestown (13-5, 6-4 NSIC) on Friday evening at the PE Gym, winning by set scores of 25-16, 24-26, 27-25 and 25-17.
Ashley Peltier and Mollie Rupp led the Mustangs offensively with 13 kills apiece, while Peltier hit .355. Lindsay Kruse added eight kills without committing an attack error, finishing with a .615 hitting percentage. Natalie Pilney also put up eight kills, while Mya Krystosek contributed a 10-kill, 11-dig double-double.
Tatem Schmidt recorded 25 assists and 14 digs, while Sydney Thein finished with 23 assists and seven digs. Ashlynn Schroeder led the Mustang defense with 23 digs, while Paige Steinmetz contributed nine digs and two service aces. Pilney and Kruse each finished with six total blocks.
As a team, SMSU hit .210 on the match (60-26-162), recording eight service aces and 83 digs. Jamestown, led by Gracie Adamson with 11 kills, finished the match hitting .123 (47-27-162), while recording seven service aces and 63 digs.
Jamestown jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set before SMSU responded with six consecutive points to take a 6-5 advantage. The teams traded points early before the Mustangs began to pull away, extending an 11-9 lead to 21-11 with a 10-2 run. SMSU maintained control down the stretch and closed the set 25-16 on a kill by Leah Jones.
The second set featured a back-and-forth battle, with SMSU taking a late 23-20 lead after trailing 19-13. The Mustangs continued their rally with a service ace from Kennedy Drake to take a 24-23 advantage, but Jamestown answered to tie the set, before scoring the final two points to claim a 26-24 victory and even the match at one set apiece.
SMSU responded in the third set, overcoming a late Jamestown rally to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Mustangs led 18-12 before the Jimmies scored seven consecutive points to tie the set at 19-19. The teams traded points from there, with the score tied at 23-23 and again at 25-25. Kruse delivered consecutive kills to give SMSU a 27-25 win and put the Mustangs one set away from victory.
The Mustangs carried that momentum into the fourth set, overcoming an early deficit before building a 12-10 lead. SMSU continued to extend its advantage, moving ahead 19-14 before maintaining control through the closing points. Kills from Krystosek, Pilney and Peltier helped the Mustangs pull away, and SMSU secured the match with a 25-17 set victory.
The Mustangs continue the weekend action against Northern State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
