Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University middle blocker Emily Rohrer (center) high-fives setter Sydney Thein (4) after recording a kill during a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball match against Minnesota Crookston at the Southwest Minnesota State University PE Gym in Marshall on Saturday. The Mustangs defeated Crookston in three sets, and Rohrer was named the NSIC’s Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

MARSHALL — The No. 12 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team closed out its first homestand of the season with a straight-sets win over Minnesota Crookston in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Saturday. The Mustangs controlled each set from start to finish, claiming game victories by scores of 25-10, 25-13 and 25-11. The team’s overall defensive prowess also helped middle blocker Emily Rohrer earn the NSIC’s Defensive Player of the Week award.

Over the course of SMSU’s weekend matches against Minnesota State University-Moorhead and Minnesota Crookston, Rohrer averaged 1.67 blocks per set with one solo block and nine being block assists to earn her first conference weekly honors.

“We’ve really just been trying to zero in on our side of the net the last couple of days, just trying to be super efficient with what we’re doing defensively,” SMSU head coach Tyler Boddy said, adding that they’ve been trying to maximize the team’s potential by putting players in the best roles.

The selection marks the second time in three weeks that SMSU had a player selected for a weekly award after setter Sydney Thein was named the conference’s Setter of the Week on Sept. 15.

In Saturday’s match, the Mustangs held the Golden Eagles to a -.074 hitting percentage in the match. Rohrer and Ashley Peltier each logged five total blocks in the match, trailing only Natalie Pilney’s six to set the tone in the front row.

Libero McKenzie Tolk tallied 14 digs in the back row. Outside hitters Mya Krystosek and Leah Jones also had a significant defensive impact with 10 and nine digs, respectively.

Crookston scored the first point of the first game on a kill from Madison Carsten, but it was all SMSU from there. Peltier and Krystosek each picked up kills while Leah Jones served up an ace to give the Mustangs their first lead. After another kill from Abigail Ernster cut SMSU’s lead to 3-2, the Mustangs went on a 7-0 run with kills from Peltier, Rohrer and Pilney and never looked back.

Leading 17-9 midway through the set, the Mustangs turned on the jets again to close out the first set. Jones had a pair of kills and a block with Rohrer to lead the Mustangs on an 8-0 run to wrap up the 25-10 win.

Jones finished the match as SMSU’s leading hitter, tallying 10 kills on a .320 hitting percentage. Pilney also contributed seven kills on a .294 clip while Krystosek added nine on a .222 percentage, and Peltier and Rohrer each had six kills without a hitting error.

As a team, SMSU hit .318 for the match.

Thein continued her strong sophomore campaign at setter for the Mustangs, recording 30 set assists with one error.

“[We’re] trying to take care of the ball on the third contact swinging at it, but I thought Sydney did a great job of distributing the ball to all of our hitters,” Boddy said, adding that he felt that his team’s effort was fun to watch.

Coming off a strong finish to set one, the Mustangs continued to surge ahead in the second game. A pair of blocks from Rohrer and a kill and a block from Krystosek helped SMSU score each of the game’s first 6 points, and Pilney came up with two blocks and a kill to give SMSU an 11-1 lead to start the set.

The Golden Eagles never came any closer than 9 points from there, as SMSU maintained its lead for a 25-13 win.

Strength at the service line was a difference-maker in the match. Jones and Paige Steinmetz each accounted for two of the Mustangs’ seven service aces, while Crookston finished the match without any aces.

The third set was tied at one point apiece while a trio of kills from Krystosek led SMSU on an 8-1 run to seize momentum. Once again, the Golden Eagles were unable to fight their way back into the match and the Mustangs sealed their second consecutive sweep with a 25-11 victory in the clinching set.

Among the points in the set was a particularly long rally in which both teams made dive after dive for acrobatic digs to keep the point alive. Yet, the Golden Eagles eventually took the point and Boddy called a timeout after.

“I was wondering if we needed oxygen before the play was over,” Boddy said with a laugh. “Both sides were playing hard, keeping the ball off the floor, and it was going to come down to who was going to be willing to take a swing after we played for about 45 seconds. But it was fun to watch that.”

Leading each of the three sets by a wide margin for the majority of the match, SMSU had the ability to test its depth on Saturday. True freshmen Maddy Range and Trevyn Smith each saw their first action of the season in the match, with Range logging a kill, a block assist and two digs while Smith recorded three set assists and a block assist.

“We haven’t been able to do that [work in younger players] a whole lot, and just being able to truly show our team that this is a team win,” Boddy said. “We’ve got 19 kids on our team and what they’re doing every day is important to what we’re trying to do to be successful as a team, so we try to give those kids some love and get on the floor.”

Carsten and Emma Malek led Crookston with four kills on a -.061 hitting percentage and three kills on a .000 hitting percentage. Ellery Ehresmann recorded eight set assists while Carizma Muth tallied 11 digs.

Update in the rankings

SMSU entered last week ranked No. 8 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II poll, but a loss to Sioux Falls on Tuesday resulted in the Mustangs dropping to No. 12 despite the weekend sweep.

The NSIC remains heavily represented in the poll. Wayne State is the top-ranked team from the conference at No. 9, followed by Concordia-St. Paul, SMSU and St. Cloud State at 11, 12 and 13.

Minnesota Duluth is also ranked No. 15 while Minnesota State was the first team out of the top 25, listed in the “receiving votes” Category.

Back in the saddle in conference play

SMSU dropped two of its first three NSIC matches, falling to Minnesota Duluth and Sioux Falls after beating Bemidji State in its NSIC opener. The weekend sweep brings SMSU back above .500 in conference play through five matches, putting them in eighth place out of 16 teams in the conference.

“It’s just been fun to be able to be at home. We’ve had a long stretch here of being on the road and our team is super excited to get to play at home,” Boddy said, adding that the team was fortunate to be able to play hard and earn a pair of wins.​

Up next

Now sitting at 10-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play, the Mustangs will go on the road next weekend to take on St. Cloud State and Minnesota State. The Mustangs will face off against the Huskies at Halenback Hall on Friday at 6 p.m., and take on the Mavericks in the Taylor Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.