On Friday night, the Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team swept the St. Cloud State University Huskies in three sets, 25-15, 25-23, 25-23. This marks the Mustangs’ tenth sweep of the season. In addition, this marks Coach Terry Culhane’s 254th career win, tying him with Jeri Madden for the second most wins in SMSU history.

The Mustangs took set one handily, winning 25-15. The Huskies attempted to rally several times, but could not work up the momentum. Abbey Thissen and Jess Thieleman tallied back-to-back block assists at the end of the set to seal the win.

In set two, the Mustangs and the Huskies matched each-other point-for-point through the majority of the set. With the score tied at 22, a 3-1 rally for the Mustangs helped lift them over the Huskies for the win.

The third set was similar to the second, in that both teamed were neck-and-neck for most of the set. Once again, with the score tied at 22, the Mustangs went on a 3-1 run, taking the third set, as well as the match.

Offensively, the Mustangs were led by Abbey Thissen, who recorded 20 kills on 36 attempts with just two errors. Thissen finished with a .500 hitting percentage. Claire Sames followed Thissen with 11 kills on 21 attempts. As a team, the Mustangs recorded 10 total blocks in the match. Thissen recorded six block assists. Emilee Gutzmer put up 37 of the team’s 45 assists.

With the win, the Mustangs improve to a record of 18-5 overall and 13-2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Huskies fall to a record of 12-11 overall and 6-9 in the NSIC.