SMSU VOLLEYBALL: SMSU opens season with upset win over No. 10 Colorado Mesa, sweeps Grand Valley State to cap off undefeated day
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GOLDEN, Colo. -- The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team began their season Friday, upsetting No. 10 Colorado Mesa 25-27, 25-18, 25-23, 25-21 at the Colorado School of Mines Classic.
Angela Young led the way for the Mustangs, with 20 kills and six digs while Meg Schmidt added 16 kills, four blocks, and two aces. Alisa Bengen paced the squad with 47 assists, six digs, and a career-high seven kills.
SMSU concluded the match with a .345 hitting percentage, while limiting Colorado Mesa to a .139 percentage. The Mustangs also collected 12 blocks to help lead them to victory.
The Mustangs showed fight in their first game against Colorado Mesa, battling back after starting the first set down 9-3. SMSU went on a 8-4 run to close the gap, then traded points with the Mavericks before falling 27-25. The Mustangs outhit the Mavericks .194 to .186, but could not overcome the continuous offensive flurry from Colorado Mesa.
The second set was a different story, with the Mustangs in leading for the entire set to win 25-18. SMSU held a .462 hitting percentage in set two, while also out-blocking the Mavericks 6-2.
Set three was all Mavericks to start, going up 7-1 to start, and leading 14-7 before the Mustangs started to gallop. A 7-1 Mustang run cut the CMU lead to 15-14, and an 11-6 run when down 17-14 to close out the set at 25-23.
The Mustangs closed it out in the fourth set, going down 8-3 before taking the game over. A 15-3 run after an SMSU timeout opened the floodgates, and iced the game with an Emma VanHeel kill and CMU attack error.
Katelyn Nichols recorded four kills and nine blocks, and Emma VanHeel picked up nine kills, two aces, and two blocks in their first career match.
SMSU has now won five of its last six openers and are 15-2 in the Terry Culhane era.
SMSU's offensive onslaught was too much for Grand Valley State in the Mustangs' 25-20, 25-23, 25-23 victory in their second match on Friday at the Colorado School of Mines Classic.
Angela Young capped off her day with 16 kills and seven digs to lead the Mustangs, with Alisa Bengen's six kills, eight digs, and 33 assists contributed to the victory.
SMSU caried its momentum from their previous match into this one, picking up a 25-20 victory in the first set. The Mustangs tallied 17 kills to Grand Valley State's 11 en route to victory. SMSU also outhit GVSU .262 to .159.
The Mustangs battled in the second set, exchanging blows before pulling off the 25-23 victory. A Meg Schmidt kill off of a delivery from Bengen sealed the second set for SMSU.
Set three was a slow start for the Mustangs, seeing a 4-0 deficit right out of the gate. The score got to 10-5, before a 7-1 run gave SMSU a 12-11 lead. GVSU recorded a 6-0 run on their own to take a 19-14 lead, before being outscored 13-6 to complete the Mustang sweep.
Schmidt tallied 11 kills and three digs, while Emma VanHeel picked up nine kills and a block.
SMSU begin 2-0 for the 11th time in the Terry Culhane era, and first time since 2017. The Mustangs will close the classic with Colorado Christian at 12:30 p.m. CDT and No. 12 Colorado School of Mines at 5:30 p.m. CDT today.
-- Content courtesy
of SMSU Athletic
Communications