SMSU VOLLEYBALL: SMSU back in the win column with sweep over Minot State
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MARSHALL -- The No. 11 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team looked to get back to its winning ways after a tough five-set loss to Northern State University last Saturday with a matchup against Minot State University. Using a strong first set to its advantage, SMSU earned a 3-0 (25-6, 25-20, 25-18) victory on Friday in the PE Gym.
SMSU coach Terry Culhane said while he was pleased with their start in the opening frame, he felt they made too many errors on the offensive attack as the match went on, which had hurt them against Northern State last weekend.
"We obviously got out to a good start and then they started playing better and we got haunted by too many hitting errors again," Culhane said. "That's one of the things we've been working on, trying to limit those numbers; in the first game we had one error, in the second game we had nine errors. That's what got us in trouble in our Northern match, we had 10 or 11 errors in each game against them, so we need to improve on that."
SMSU took command of the pace right from the start, earning the first six points of Set 1 before a kill by Meg Schmidt made it 10-4. The Mustangs kept attacking, going on a 12-1 run to go up 22-5 before taking Set 1, 25-6 and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Schmidt said their key in the first set was their ability to spread the wealth offensively and maintain their aggressiveness the entire frame.
"We gave our hitters some good looks and split up the offense well," Schmidt said. "I thought that's what we did best and then we also came out with some aggressive serves."
The second set was back and forth in the early stages, with SMSU holding a 4-2 lead before Minot State tied things up at 6-6. The tight play continued over the next several serves, as the Mustangs used a small run to go up 11-7 before Minot State drew to within one at 16-15. But SMSU wouldn't let the Beavers get any closer, as the Mustangs held on for a 25-20 second set victory and a 2-0 lead.
The two teams traded points to start Set 3, with Minot State taking its first lead of the evening at 4-3 before a serving error by the Beavers gave SMSU a 6-5 advantage. The back-and-forth battle continued, as Minot State went up 11-9 before the Mustangs earned the next four consecutive points to take a 13-11 lead. SMSU would continue to create separation, going up 20-15 before earning a 25-18 Set 3 win to cement the sweep.
Angela Young led SMSU with 11 kills while Schmidt added nine and Halle Jansen had eight. Payton Hjerleid led in digs with 17 while Young added seven and Schmidt had four. Schmidt also led in set assists with 21 while Sophie Johnson added 15.
As a team, SMSU recorded a hitting percentage of .345, while limiting Minot State to just .051%.
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SMSU (14-2, 6-2 NSIC) will finish its homestand today against the University of Mary at 1 p.m.
SMSU 3, Minot State 0
Minot State 6 20 18
SMSU 25 25 25
Kills: SMSU (Young 11; Schmidt 9; Jansen 8).
Digs: SMSU (Hjerleid 17; Young 7; Schmidt 4).
Set Assists: SMSU (Schmidt 21; Johnson 15).
Serving (aces): SMSU (Fink (6); Hjerleid (2); Schmidt (2)).