Pensacola, Fla. – The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (2-0) opened its 2026 campaign with back-to-back sweeps over Wheeling (W. Va.) and Spring Hill (Ala.) Friday afternoon.
GAME ONE
SMSU began the day with a dominant performance over the Wheeling Cardinals (1-1) at the UWF Field House. The Mustangs won by the scores of 25-15, 25-8, 25-22.
Lindsay Kruse, making her collegiate debut, and Leah Jones led the Mustang attack with nine kills each. Kruse was especially efficient, hitting .471 with just one error on 17 attacks, while Jones hit .292 and added three digs and one block.
Natalie Pilney and Mya Krystosek each recorded seven kills, with Pilney adding two aces and one block. Mollie Rupp, making her SMSU debut, contributed six kills while hitting .357.
Tatem Schmidt, another collegiate debutant, led the Mustang offense with 20 assists, while Sydney Thein added 18 assists and three digs. Ashlyn Schroeder paced the SMSU defense with 12 digs, while Krystosek and Schmidt each finished with seven digs.
As a team, the Mustangs hit .263 (44-14-114) while the Cardinals were held to hitting .000 (20-20-94). SMSU also held a 41-20 advantage in assists and recorded 41 digs.
Wheeling, which falls to 1-1 on the season, was led offensively by Camryn Matus with five kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Mara McDougal paced the Cardinals with 17 digs.
SMSU came out strong in the opening set, hitting .425 with 21 kills and just four errors on 40 attacks. The Mustangs quickly settled in, building an early 6-1 lead, and eventually taking the 25-15 victory in the first set. Krystosek and Pilney led the charge with five kills each.
SMSU continued its momentum in the second set, racing out to a 12-0 advantage before cruising to a 25-8 win. The Mustangs front line forced 12 Wheeling hitting errors, causing the Cardinals to hit -.184 in the second set, while SMSU hit .258.
The third set proved to be the most competitive of the afternoon, with 12 ties and five lead changes. Wheeling held a 15-12 lead midway through the set before the Mustangs battled back to tie the score at 16-16. SMSU then used an 8-4 stretch to take a 24-20 lead before closing out the match, 25-22.
GAME TWO
The Mustangs continued their strong start to the weekend with a sweep of the Spring Hill Badgers. The Mustangs won by the scores of 25-10, 25-16, 25-14.
SMSU controlled the match from the opening serve, hitting .347 as a team (46-13-95). The Mustangs also recorded nine service aces, eight total blocks and 53 digs while holding the Badgers to a .000 hitting percentage (17-17-90). SHC was led by Claire Hayes with seven kills.
Mya Krystosek led the Mustang attack with 12 kills and 15 digs for her first double-double of the season.
Ashley Peltier added eight kills while hitting an impressive .700, committing just one error on 10 attacks. Lindsay Kruse finished with six kills and hit .444 while leading SMSU at the net with five total blocks.
Tatem Schmidt paced the offense with 18 assists and added six digs. Sydney Thein finished with 15 assists.
Reese Drake provided a strong serving performance, recording four service aces without a service error.
SMSU jumped out to an early lead in the opening set, taking a 6-1 advantage. The Mustangs then used a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 15-7 before closing the set on a 7-2 run, including three straight aces from Reese Drake to win 25-10.
After an early back-and-forth second set, SMSU took control with a 5-0 run midway through the set to move ahead 13-8 and later extended its advantage to 18-10. The Mustangs finished the set on a 6-2 run to claim a 25-16 victory, earning 17 kills in the process.
SMSU once again came out quickly in the third set, building an early 8-3 lead. The Mustangs pulled away from the Badgers with a 4-0 run and continued to maintain control, closing out the sweep at 25-14. SMSU hit .405 in the final set with 19 kills.
The Mustangs will close out the SpringHill Suites Invitational tomorrow, beginning with an exhibition against West Florida at 11 a.m., and a second match against Wheeling at 3 p.m.
