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All notes courtesy of SMSU Athletics Communications.
St. Joseph, Mo. - The No. 10 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (3-1) dropped a hard-fought 3-1 decision to No. 11 ranked Missouri Western State on Thursday night at the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Mustangs won the opening set 25-20 before the Griffons rallied to take the final three sets by scores of 25-23, 25-21 and 25-21.
Leah Jones and Natalie Pilney led the Mustang attack with 13 kills and 11 kills respectively. Pilney ended the match hitting .310.
Mya Krostosek contributed seven kills and15 digs while Mollie Rupp added eight kills while hitting .350.
Tatem Schmidt led the Mustangs with 25 assists and added a team-high 26 digs. Sydney Thein recorded 22 assists and five digs.
Paige Steinmetz added 14 digs and three service aces, and Ashlynn Schroeder recorded a career-best 25 digs.
As a team, the Mustangs hit .134 (53-26-201). SMSU also recorded four service aces, 98 digs and six total blocks. MWSU, led by Noelle Sutcliffe with 15 kills, hit .175 (53-21-183) while finishing with 102 digs and 13 total blocks.
The Mustangs opened the match with a strong first set, overcoming an early Missouri Western lead and eventually building a 15-11 advantage. SMSU maintained control late in the set, taking a 24-17 lead before the Griffons scored three straight points. The Mustangs then closed out the set on a Missouri Western attack error to win 25-20.
The second set featured another back-and-forth battle. Missouri Western held a 13-11 lead before SMSU fought back to tie the set two points later. The Griffons later opened a 17-13 advantage, but the Mustangs continued to battle, pulling within three. SMSU cut the deficit to 24-23 following consecutive points from Jones and a Griffons attack error, but MWSU answered with the final point to win 25-23.
SMSU jumped out to an early lead in set three, eventually holding a 12-8 advantage following a 4-0 run. Missouri Western responded with a 6-0 run to take an 18-16 lead before the Mustangs tied the set at 19-19. The Griffons scored six of the final eight points, however, to claim the set 25-21.
The fourth set featured 13 ties and seven lead changes, with neither team able to establish consistent separation. SMSU held a 20-19 advantage after consecutive points from Schmidt and Makenzie Walsh, but Missouri Western answered with a 6-0 run to take a 24-20 lead. The Griffons closed out the match in the next two points, winning 25-21.
The Mustangs are back in action Friday with a pair of matches, first against Rockhurst (Mo.) at 11:30 a.m., before facing Northwest Missouri State at 4:30 p.m.