SMSU Athletics

MARSHALL, Minn. - Southwest Minnesota State (29-3) held the third team in the nation in hitting percentage, Arkansas Tech (35-1), to just .165 hitting in a 25-9, 25-20, 25-21 sweep on Thursday night in the PE Gym in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
 
Taylor Reiss led the Mustangs with 17 kills on 35 swings including a six-kill first set that helped SMSU jump on top of Arkansas Tech early.
 
Sarina Smith had seven kills for SMSU while Brooke Borchardt added another five.
 
SMSU jumped out to a 12-1 lead in the first set of the match as the Mustangs cruised to a 25-9 win to open the match. The Golden Suns were held to just eight kills and a .000 hitting percentage in the first game.
 
Megan Larson posted the only double-double for SMSU with 31 assists and 10 digs on the night.
 
The Golden Suns two leading attackers, Hunter Eshnaur and Allie Anderson, combined for just 11 kills against a tough SMSU defense.
 
Southwest Minnesota State improves its NCAA Tournament record to 17-14 overall and 11-4 in the Central Region Tournament.
 
The Mustangs also improve their overall record to 12-3 against ranked opponents on the season which includes a 6-2 record against top-10 opponents.
 
SMSU, which has now won seven straight matches, will face fifth seeded Minnesota Duluth on Friday in the second semifinal match of the Central Region quarterfinals beginning at 5 p.m., in the PE Gym.