The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team kicked off Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play Friday night, falling to the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears in three sets, 25-19, 25-20, 28-26.
The Mustangs were hurt by a struggling offense in the first set, finishing with a .118 attack percentage and nine errors. In contract, the Golden Bears finished the first set with a .385 attack percentage and just four errors.
SMSU tightened up their attack in the second set, but still couldn’t overcome the Golden Bears’ Ellie Duffy, who knocked down eight kills in the set.
The Mustangs were still unable to slow down the Golden Bears in the third set, despite a comeback late in the set.
Three Mustang players posted double-digit kills, with Devin Dierich pacing the team with13, followed by Brooke Burmeister with 12, and Abbey Thissen with 10. Finishing with 38 assists was Emilee Gutzmer, while Rachel Westby led the Mustang defense with 10 digs. As a team, the Mustangs finished with 47 kills on 38 assists, 38 digs, and an attack percentage of .235 with 20 errors.
Despite their loss to Concordia-St. Paul, the No. 2 Mustangs swept the Minnesota State- Mankato Mavericks in three sets, 25-22, 25-19, and 25-19.
Mary Groth led all players with 14 kills, followed by Abbey Thissen with 11. Devin Diedrich added an additional seven kills and five blocks. Emilee Gutzmer racked up a total of 43 assists and nine digs, while McKell Anderson led the Mustang defense with 15 digs.
The win improved the Mustangs to a 8-1 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC, while the Mavericks fell to 7-3 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC.