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All notes courtesy of SMSU athletics commuications.
WAYNE - The No. 15 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (19-4, 13-3 NSIC) earned a 3-0 sweep over the No. 2 ranked Wayne State Wildcats (24-2, 15-1 NSIC) on Tuesday evening at Rice Auditorium, winning by set scores of 25-22, 25-18 and 25-23.
Leah Jones led the Mustangs offensively with 17 kills while hitting .357. Natalie Pilney added 13 kills and hit .367, while Mollie Rupp contributed 10 kills without committing an attack error, finishing with a .556 hitting percentage. Mya Krystosek added five kills and paced the defense with 23 digs.
Ashlynn Schroeder recorded 21 digs, while Sydney Thein directed the Mustang offense with 29 assists. Tatem Schmidt added 16 assists and six digs, while Ashley Peltier led SMSU with four total blocks.
As a team, SMSU hit .331 (50-7-130), recording three service aces, 78 digs and five total blocks. Wayne State hit .248 (49-12-149), with Channatee Robles and Delaney Miller leading the Wildcats with 11 kills each.
The opening set featured a competitive battle, with SMSU scoring the first three points of the match. The Mustangs maintained their advantage through the opening stretch before Wayne State rallied to tie the score at 10-10. The teams continued to trade points, eventually reaching a 20-20 tie. SMSU responded with a key run to move ahead 23-21 and held off the Wildcats late, closing out the set 25-22.
SMSU carried its momentum into the second set, opening with another 3-0 lead before Wayne State battled back to even the score three points later. The Mustangs regained control and built a 10-7 advantage, extending the lead to 15-10. Wayne State continued to fight, cutting the deficit to one point at 17-16, but SMSU answered with a strong stretch to pull away. The Mustangs closed out the set 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set opened with another strong start from SMSU, as the Mustangs built a 4-0 advantage. Wayne State worked its way back into the set and cut the deficit to one point, but SMSU responded to extend its lead to 13-9. The Mustangs maintained their advantage through the middle portion of the set, moving ahead 21-16. The Wildcats mounted a late rally, closing the gap to 23-22, but SMSU secured two of the final three points to win the set 25-23 and complete the sweep.
The Mustangs host Winona State on Friday at 6 p.m., and Concordia-St. Paul the next day at 3 p.m. The two matches hosted inside the PE Gym are the last regular season home matches for SMSU this season, and the team will be celebrating ‘Senior Night’ on Friday, and ‘Parents’ Day’ on Saturday.