MINOT, N.D. – Southwest Minnesota State’s head coach, Terry Culhane, earned his 400th career victory as the SMSU volleyball team (8-2, 2-0 NSIC) earned a sweep (25-14, 25-17, 25-12) over Minot State (0-10, 0-2 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at the Minot State Dome.

Culhane now holds a 400-108 overall record in his 16th season at the helm.

The Mustangs recorded a .307 hitting percentage while the Beavers were restricted to a .029 percentage.

Junior outside hitter Angela Young led the Mustangs with 13 kills with Meg Schmidt right behind her with 12. Emma Thomssen paced SMSU with 25 assists and recorded seven digs. Payton Hjerleid led the defense with 14 digs while Rachel Fink contributed 12.

The duo at the net of Sarina Smith and Zoe Lier each had three block assists.

Jeanne Brenner led Minot State with seven kills.

Despite an early lead for the Beavers in set one, the Mustangs utilized an 8-0 run early on to surpass the Beavers with a 10-4 lead. The Mustangs once again converted a kill from Young into a six-point run as they would gain an 11-point cushion extending into the 25-14 set victory.

The Mustangs remained heavy on runs throughout the match as they would utilize two five-point runs to pull ahead from the Beavers in set three to ease into the match victory.

No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State (8-2, 2-0 NSIC) will face No. 8 Northern State (9-1, 2-0 NSIC) in the home opener on Friday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. SMSU will then host MSU Moorhead (5-5, 0-2 NSIC) on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 2 p.m. in the PE Gym.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications