On Saturday night, the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustang volleyball team’s 11-game winning streak was brought to a close by Concordia-St. Paul in three sets, 25-15, 25-18, 25-16.  The CU Golden Bears have also been responsible for ending two other Mustang streaks of seven consecutive sweeps and 22 set victories.

The Mustangs dropped the first set 25-15. Initially, they matched the Golden Bears nearly point-for-point before a four-point streak by CU, making the score 16-11. The Mustangs fought back with two consecutive points, cutting the deficit to 16-13.  CU would score the next two points, followed by two for SMSU. A seven-point streak for the Golden Bears would end the game with a score of 25-15.

In the second set, both teams battled back-and-forth, never falling within more than four points of each other. However, the Mustangs could not gain enough momentum to overcome the Golden Bears, dropping the set 25-18.

The third set mirrored the first two, with each team matching the other point-for-point. At 11-12, the Golden Bears put together a four-point streak to put the score at 15-12. The Mustangs responded with two points, while the Golden Bears recorded one. A five-point streak for the Golden Bears, followed by a four-point streak, sealed the set and the match.

The Mustangs were led by Abbey Thissen, who recorded 11 kills. Thissen was followed by Claire Sames and Whitney Burmeister, who recorded six kills apiece. Burmiester led the Mustangs in digs, with 12. Emilee Gutzmer recorded 29 assists. Rachel Westby picked up 11 digs.

With the win, the Mustangs fall to 15-4 and 10-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, while the Golden Bears improve to 19-1 and 11-0 in the NSIC.