A solid attack by the Mustangs helped them to a victory over the Minnesota State Mavericks on Friday, November 9. The Mustangs won the match in four sets: 25-21, 24-26, 25-15, and 25-17.
An 8-0 run by the Mavericks in the first set helped them to an early lead, eventually pulling ahead 11-3. Six unanswered points by the Mustangs tightened the score to 11-9, finally taking a 14-13 lead. The Mustangs would go on to take the set 25-21.
SMSU had a firm handle on the Mavericks’ blocking attack in the second set. However, solid hitting from MSU proved to be more than the Mustangs could handle. A rally late in the set sealed the deal for the Mavericks, handing them a 26-24 victory.
Solid hitting by the Mustangs helped them handle the Mavericks in the third set. A .406 hitting percentage led the Mustangs to a 25-15 set victory.
The momentum SMSU worked up in the third set spilled over into the fourth set, leading the Mustangs to a 25-17 set victory. The Mustang offense recorded a .375 hitting percentage.
Senior Devin Diedrich led the Mustang offense with 15 kills, with fellow seniors Brooke Burmeister and Mary Groth knocking down 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Freshman Abbey Thissen recorded 14 kills, while McKell Anderson added 12. Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Freshman of the Year Emilee Gutzmer tallied 60 assists and 13 digs. Libero Rachel Westby recorded 20 digs. As a team, the Mustangs recorded a .273 hitting percentage for the match. The win improves the Mustangs to an overall record of 26-1 and 18-1 in the NSIC. The Mavericks fall to 17-10 overall and 11-8 in the NSIC.
The momentum from Friday night’s victory didn’t carry over into Saturday, as the SMSU Mustangs fell to Concordia-St. Paul in three sets, 25-18, 25-21, and 25-19. This marks the Mustangs’ second loss of the season, putting the brakes on a 19-match winning streak. Both of the Mustangs’ losses have been credited to Concordia- St. Paul. After the loss, SMSU, CU, and the University of Minnesota-Duluth all shared the NSIC regular season title. This is the first time since 2001 that the Mustangs have won an NSIC title.
A .381 hitting percentage helped the Golden Bears hold the Mustangs to only four leads during the entire match. Groth led the Mustangs with 12 kills on 21 attacks for a hitting percentage of .476. Seniors Burmeister and Diedrich chipped in eight kills apiece while freshman Thissen and Anderson added seven and four kills, respectively.
Solid hitting by the Golden Bears held Mustang libero to just six digs. Freshman Gutzmer nailed down her ninth double-double of the season with 34 assists and 10 digs.
With the loss, the Mustangs fall to an overall record of 26-2 and 18-2 in the NSIC, while the Golden Bears improve to 24-3 overall and 18-2 in the NSIC.