SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The No. 11 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (10-2, 4-1 NSIC) rallied for a 3-2 victory over the University of Sioux Falls (4-9, 0-5 NSIC) on Thursday night at Stewart Center, winning by set scores of 25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 25-21 and 15-7.
The win marked the 100th victory for head coach Tyler Boddy in his time at SMSU.
Natalie Pilney led SMSU offensively with 15 kills while hitting .343. The 15 kill mark ties a career high for Pilney. Mollie Rupp added 13 kills and hit .333. Ashley Peltier recorded 12 kills while hitting .370, with Leah Jones also contributing 12 kills while hitting .241.
Tatem Schmidt directed the SMSU offense with 30 assists, while Sydney Thein added 23 assists. Thein also collected 12 digs, while Ashlynn Schroeder finished with 11 digs. Mya Krystosek led the Mustangs with four service aces.
The Mustangs finished the match while hitting .266 as a team (62-21-154), along with nine service aces and 12 total blocks. Pilney paced the blocking effort with eight block assists, while Peltier added six block assists. SMSU also finished with 60 digs. Sioux Falls, led in kills by Abby Haus with 17, hit .190 in the match (59-29-158).
SMSU controlled the opening set early, building a 6-3 lead before Sioux Falls pulled even at 14-14. The Mustangs regained the advantage shortly after and pushed ahead 19-16 before the Cougars rallied to tie the set at 20-20. SMSU responded with a 4-0 run to take a 24-20 lead and eventually closed the set 25-22 on an attack error by Sioux Falls.
The Cougars answered in the second set, taking an early 10-6 advantage before extending their lead to 17-10. SMSU battled back, using a four-point run to cut the deficit to 17-14 and later pulling within 19-17. Sioux Falls maintained control down the stretch, reaching set point at 24-20 before closing the set 25-21 to even the match at 1-1.
Sioux Falls carried momentum into the third set, although SMSU held an early 8-5 lead. The Cougars rallied to tie the score at 10 a-piece before taking a 14-11 advantage. The Mustangs later trimmed the deficit to two, but Sioux Falls continued to build its lead and moved ahead 19-14. SMSU pulled within two points twice over, but the Cougars answered to take a 24-20 lead before winning the set 25-20 and taking a 2-1 match lead.
SMSU responded with a tightly contested fourth set. The Mustangs held an early advantage before Sioux Falls rallied to take an 8-7 lead. After the teams exchanged points, SMSU later took a 17-15 advantage. The Cougars tied the score two points later, but the Mustangs regained the lead and used a 4-0 run to move ahead 22-19. SMSU reached set point at 24-21 and closed the set 25-21 on a block by Leah Jones and Lindsay Kruse, forcing a deciding fifth set.
The Mustangs took control immediately in the fifth set. After the teams traded points to a 3-3 tie, SMSU scored three straight points to take a commanding lead. The Mustangs continued to pull away, scoring four consecutive points to extend the advantage to 10-4. SMSU later led 13-6 before finishing the match with the final two points, including a kill by Natalie Pilney and an attack error by Sioux Falls, to win the set 15-7 and the match 3-2.
SMSU is back in the PE Gym on Saturday at 2 p.m. facing Augustana.
