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All notes courtesy of SMSU athletics communications.
MARSHALL -- The No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team split its final regular-season home weekend, sweeping Winona State on Friday before falling to Concordia-St. Paul in five sets Saturday afternoon inside the PE Gym.
The Mustangs (20-5, 14-4 NSIC) opened the weekend with a 3-0 victory over Winona State (5-18, 4-13 NSIC), winning by set scores of 25-15, 25-17 and 25-19. The match was also Senior Night, as SMSU honored Mya Krystosek and Ashley Peltier for their contributions to the program.
The victory marked SMSU’s 20th of the season. The Mustangs have now won at least 20 matches in six consecutive seasons and in 22 of the last 23 seasons.
Natalie Pilney led SMSU with nine kills while hitting .500 against Winona State. Krystosek and Lindsay Kruse each added seven kills, while Peltier finished with six. Ashlynn Schroeder paced the defense with 24 digs, and Tatem Schmidt directed the offense with 21 assists. Sydney Thein added 19 assists, while Kruse led the team with four total blocks.
As a team, SMSU hit .281 with 47 kills and 15 errors on 114 attempts. The Mustangs also recorded five service aces, 53 digs and seven total blocks.
SMSU carried its momentum into Saturday’s matchup against Concordia-St. Paul (21-5, 16-2 NSIC), but the Golden Bears came away with a 3-2 victory by set scores of 25-23, 26-24, 24-26, 22-25 and 15-6.
The Mustangs fell behind two sets to none before rallying to force a deciding fifth set. Concordia-St. Paul took the opening set 25-23 after holding off a late SMSU push, then overcame a six-point run by the Mustangs in the second set to win 26-24.
SMSU responded in the third set, building an early 9-2 lead before holding off a late Golden Bears rally for a 26-24 victory. The Mustangs then overcame a late Concordia-St. Paul push in the fourth, scoring four of the final six points to claim a 25-22 win and force the fifth set.
The Golden Bears took control in the deciding set, building a 6-2 lead and eventually scoring the final four points to secure the 15-6 victory.
Leah Jones led the Mustangs with 19 kills, while Pilney added 12 kills and six total blocks. Mollie Rupp contributed eight kills, and Krystosek finished with six kills and 11 digs. Kruse added five kills without an attack error, hitting .556.
Schroeder led SMSU with 27 digs, while Paige Steinmetz added 16. Schmidt recorded 21 assists and 10 digs, and Thein contributed 25 assists. Schmidt also led the Mustangs with four service aces.
SMSU hit .128 with 60 kills and 35 errors on 196 attempts, adding 10 service aces, 82 digs and six total blocks. Concordia-St. Paul hit .162, led by Makenna Nold with 16 kills and 23 digs.
The loss concluded the Mustangs’ regular-season home schedule. SMSU closes conference play next weekend with road matches against Minnesota State and St. Cloud State.