BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. - In front of the homecoming crowd, The No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team handed Winona State its first loss within the NSIC, earning the victory with set victories of 25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 25-12. With the win, the Mustangs improve to 16-1 overall, 8-1 in NSIC play, while the Warriors fall to 16-3, 8-1 in NSIC play.

The Mustang offense was potent in the first set as they boasted a .308 attack percentage with only five errors. SMSU would slam down 17 kills in the set with five coming from Mary Groth.

In the second set, SMSU struggled to keep up the high-power offense as the Mustangs only managed a .098 attack percentage with 11 errors. The match featured 8 tie scores and six lead changes with Winona State prevailing in the end with a 25-23 set win.

SMSU rebounded in the third set by posting 16 kills on a .406 hitting percentage with only three errors.

The Mustangs would dominate the fourth set with a 25-12 victory to take the match and snap Winona State’s 15 match winning streak. With the win, SMSU extended its winning streak to nine dating back to Sept. 14.

 Mary Groth led the Mustangs with a match high 17 kills, while teammate  Abbey Thissen followed not far behind with 16 kills. Emilee Gutzmer boasted 54 assiss to set up her attackers that posted a .275 attack percentage for the match. Brooke Burmeister and Devin Diedrich rounded out the Mustang offense with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Westby led the defense with 22 digs.

After enjoying the homecoming weekend, SMSU’s next three matches will be on the road as SMSU will take on Bemidji State and Minnesota, Crookston next weekend.