Wayne State 3 #10 Southwest Minnesota State 2

            Sophomore Tali Fredrickson recorded a career-high 23 kills to go with 21 digs to help the Wayne State College volleyball team rally for a thrilling five-game win at #10 Southwest Minnesota State to open Northern Sun Conference play Tuesday evening in Marshall, Minnesota.  Scores of the match were 21-25, 25-21, 24-26, 26-24 and 15-13.  WSC has now won 11 straight matches, improving to 12-2 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC while Southwest Minnesota State is now 10-3 overall and 0-1 in league play.

            The host Mustangs opened the match with a 25-21 win in the first game.  WSC rallied from an early 8-3 deficit in the second game to win 25-21.  After the Wildcats held a 21-17 lead in the third game, SMSU rallied for a 26-24 win to take a 2-1 lead.  In the fourth game, SMSU held a 15-12 advantage, but the Wildcats stormed back and with the score tied at 24-24, got kills from Lea Hartigan and Mindy Moody to win the fourth game 26-24.  The fifth game saw SMSU take a 10-8 lead, but WSC scored six straight points to earn match point with a 14-10 lead.  However, the Mustangs responded and scored five straight points to make the score 14-13.  But WSC got a kills from Hartigan to end the match as the Wildcats won 15-13 in the fifth game to rally for the 3-2 win.

            Fredrickson, a 5-7 outside hitter from Grand Island Central Catholic HS, surpassed her previous career-high of 18 kills set last season at Colorado Mines.  Her 21 digs is two shy of a career-high and it was Fredrickson's sixth double-double of the season.  Hartigan finished with 18 kills, matching her career-high set last season vs. Minnesota Duluth at the NCAA Tournament while Jennifer Hefner, named earlier today the Sports Imports/AVCA Division II National Volleyball Player of the Week, added 17 kills in the Wildcat win.

            As a team, WSC hit .292 for the match with just 14 errors compared to Southwest Minnesota State's .270 hitting percentage and 24 hitting errors.

            Defensively, sophomore libero Leigh Connot notched 24 digs followed by Fredrickson with 21 and Diedra Artz with 10.  Artz also was credited with 58 set assists.  Hartigan accounted for a team-high three service aces.

            Wayne State will be at home this weekend, hosting Northern State Friday evening (7:00 p.m.) and the University of Mary Saturday afternoon (4:00 p.m.) in Northern Sun Conference play.