MARSHALL, Minn. – The No. 11 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (11-2, 5-1 NSIC) earned a 3-0 victory over Augustana (8-6, 2-4 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at the PE Gym, winning by set scores of 25-13, 27-25 and 29-27.
Leah Jones led SMSU with 12 kills, while Lindsay Kruse added seven kills while hitting a team-best .545. Ashley Peltier contributed five kills and three block assists, while Natalie Pilney added seven kills and four service aces.
Tatem Schmidt directed the SMSU offense with 20 assists and added five service aces, while Sydney Thein recorded 13 assists and eight digs. Ashlynn Schroeder led the defensive effort with 13 digs, while Paige Steinmetz added 10 digs.
The Mustangs finished hitting .223 as a team (42-17-112), along with 11 service aces, 10 total blocks and 54 digs. SMSU also limited Augustana to a .207 hitting percentage (43-18-121). The Vikings were led offensively by Lucy Belisle with nine kills.
SMSU controlled the opening set from the start, eventually holding at 9-4. The Mustangs later moved ahead 16-8 before closing the set with a 25-13 victory. Pilney recorded two service aces during an early 5-0 run, while SMSU used its blocking to maintain control throughout the set.
Augustana responded with a tightly contested second set. The Vikings led 8-6 before SMSU tied the score shortly after. The teams remained within a point of each other throughout the middle portion of the set, with the score tied at four separate points. Augustana eventually took a 21-20 lead, but the Mustangs answered by reaching set point at 24-23. After Augustana eventually took a 25-24 lead, SMSU rallied to win four of the next six points, including a Krystosek kill and a Leah Jones kill, to claim the set 27-25.
The third set was another back-and-forth battle. SMSU opened with a 4-1 lead and later moved ahead 8-5 before Augustana tied the score at 8-8. The Mustangs built an 18-9 advantage behind a five-point run that included two Schmidt service aces, a Krystosek kill and a Pilney kill. Augustana rallied with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 20-19 and eventually tied the set at 23-23. The two teams went back and forth in the final moments of the match before an attack error by Augustana gave SMSU the 29-27 victory.
The Mustangs are back in action on Tuesday in the PE Gym against No. 2 ranked Wayne State at 6 p.m., before traveling to North Dakota facing UMary and Minot State on Friday and Saturday.
