Photo by Sam Thiel Members of the SMSU volleyball team celebrate after scoring a point during their match against Augustana University on Thursday. The Mustangs defeated the Vikings 3-0 in their home opener.

MARSHALL – Hard-hitting offense. Back and forth resilient play highlighted by heart and hustle. Strong serving and stifling defense down the stretch. And of course, a vocal home crowd ready to see their team play.

Thursday night’s home and conference opener had just a little bit of everything for the Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team as the Mustangs endured and persevered their way to a sweep (25-20, 29-27, 25-12) over Augustana University.

“It felt good to finally be able to play at home in front of our crowd. I think we started off a little bit slow, I don’t know if it was nerves or what because of the first home game, but we started to pick it up,” senior outside hitter Taylor Reiss said. “We served more aggressive towards the end, started to be more aggressive as hitters and defended the ball, so I think that’s what helped us win that game overall.”

The Mustangs were able to jump out to an early lead to start, as SMSU garnered an 8-4 lead. The two teams then traded points over the next several possessions, with SMSU still maintaining a four-point advantage.

Augustana hung around, however, staying within four points of the Mustangs before going on a run cut the deficit to three and ultimately one at 20-19. But SMSU responded strongly on the offensive attack, as Reiss got a trio of kills and the Mustang defense got a block to give SMSU its largest lead of the set at 24-19 before taking the opening frame 25-20.

After a tight first set, both teams looked to use a strong start in the second frame. This time it was the Vikings who held the early advantage, going up 6-4, but the Mustangs answered with a 4-2 run of their own to tie things up at 8-8.

More points were then traded over the next few serves, with the score remaining deadlocked at 13-13 before Augustana went on a 5-1 spurt to go up 18-14. The Vikings continued to hang onto at least a four-point lead, but SMSU stayed within striking distance, ultimately tying things up at 22-22.

Back and forth the two NSIC foes went, trading match point after match point. Each time Augustana had a chance to put it away, the Mustangs answered right back with a strong kill, and SMSU got a couple of them at the right time, capping off a key second set comeback and taking the second frame 29-27 to go up 2-0 in the match.

Reiss said showing that resiliency late in the set was a big confidence booster and helped set the tone the rest of the match.

“It was really important. I think anytime it’s a back and forth match and you can pull it out, it actually gives you a little bit of confidence,” Reiss said. “I know we’ve had games in the past this year where it’s been that close and we haven’t victorious in those sets, so I think it felt good to have everybody keep battling and work hard to win that set.”

SMSU continued to carry its momentum from Set 2 going into the third set, going on a 7-0 run to open the frame, highlighted by an ace from Kaylee Burmeister and a pair of kills from Reiss. The Mustangs saw their first double-digit lead of the night at 13-3 before pushing the advantage to 17-5. The Vikings would cut it to as close as eight, but SMSU responded with back-to-back kills from Reiss to make it a 10-point game. The Mustangs then capped it with a Reiss ace and a kill to cap off the 25-12 third set win and sweep.

“I think we came out really aggressive in that third set and it started off with our serves,” Reiss said. “I think our servers did a really good job serving tough at them and making their passers struggle a little bit. Overall, I think us being the more aggressive team in the third set helped us win that.”

Reiss led the way for the Mustangs with 25 kills while Meg Schmidt added a career-high 11. Kaylee Burmeister led in digs with 13 while Payton Hjerleid chipped in nine. Emma Thomssen led in set assists with 48.

SMSU coach Terry Culhane said they relied a little too much on Reiss and the outside hitters and wants to see a more balanced attack going forward.

“I thought it took us a while to get going and we ended up having to use our outsides a lot, because we didn’t handle the ball very well,” Culhane said. “We just have to be not so dependent on Taylor and obviously she’s a great player, but we have to run an offense that has more balance and not just relying on throwing a ball outside.”

Defensively, the Mustangs held Augustana in check, limiting the Vikings to a hitting percentage of just .162. Reiss said their key on defense was their aggressive serving approach, which allowed their back row to read the pattern of the Vikings’ offense as the match went on.

“I think towards the end we started to pick up more balls defensively,” Reiss said. “I think us just serving aggressive got them out of system and they had to rely on their outsides a lot and I think once we knew they were going to the outside, it makes it easier for our defense in the back row to know where the ball is going to. I think us being really aggressive at the service line really helps us in that aspect.”

SMSU (6-3, 1-0 NSIC) will hit the road this weekend, traveling to Wayne, Neb. to take on Wayne State College on Saturday at 2 p.m. Culhane said it’s going to be another challenge to start conference play but hopes his younger players will become more and more accustomed to playing against other NSIC opponents and get a better feel of conference play.

“Well Wayne’s always a tough place to play and they’re always well coached and have a good team with a number of kids back. We need to get started about understanding how to play on the road,” Culhane said. “I think what was a good thing was that our young kids got their feet wet playing in this conference and playing at home. Hopefully now they have a better feel of what it’s going to be like and every day we’ve got 19 more matches in this conference that are going to be had.”