Box Score #6 Southwest Minnesota State 3 #12 Wayne State 1

            #6 Southwest Minnesota State outlasted #12 Wayne State College in Northern Sun Conference volleyball played Tuesday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The Wildcats won the first set 27-25 with the visiting Mustangs taking the next three sets 25-21, 25-21 and 25-22.  WSC is now 16-3 on the season and 9-2 in league play while SMSU is now 14-5 and 9-2 in the NSIC.
            WSC trailed a majority of the first set but made a miraculous comeback to win the first set.  The 'Cats trailed 19-12 and faced SMSU set point at 24-19.  WSC used kills from Elizabeth Gebhardt and Katie Hughes to force an SMSU timeout at 24-21.  Gebhardt then had a service ace followed by back-to-back kills from Alyssa Frauendorfer to even the set at 24-24.  Following an SMSU kill by Kenzie Beekman, WSC used a Beekman attack error and straight kills from Hughes to rally for the 27-25 set win.
            The second set saw the Mustangs pull away from a 17-17 tie to record a 25-21 win over the Wildcats to even the match at 1-1.  SMSU had 15 kills and hit .375 in the set. 
            WSC jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the third set, but SMSU battled back for a 10-10 tie.  With WSC leading 14-13, the Mustangs scored nine of the next 10 points to take control of the set and record a 25-21 third set win.
            The Wildcats again jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set, up 8-4 to force a Mustang timeout.  But SMSU rallied and took a 13-9 lead and kept the lead for good to take the fourth set 25-22.
            Southwest Minnesota State hit .265 for the match compared to .160 for Wayne State.  The Mustangs had 65 kills and 22 attack errors while WSC had 50 kills and 24 attack errors.  Both teams struggled serving with SMSU making 13 errors and WSC seven.  The Wildcats held an 11-8 edge in blocks over the Mustangs.
            Junior outside hitter Katie Hughes led WSC with 15 kills and 23 digs for her ninth double-double of the season.  Elizabeth Gebhardt also reached double figures in kills with 13. Junior libero Courtney VanGroningen accounted for 19 digs with sophomore Michaela Mestl adding 11 and junior setter Leisa McClintock handed out 41 set assists.
            Wayne State will be on the road this weekend, visiting Minnesota State Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. and #3 Concordia-St. Paul Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.