Box Score #11 Wayne State 3 #4 Southwest Minnesota State 1

            #11 Wayne State College rallied from a first set deficit and came back from a 17-8 deficit in the fourth set to defeat #4 Southwest Minnesota State 3-1 Friday evening in the semi-finals of the NCAA Central Regional Volleyball Tournament in St. Paul, Minnesota.  The Wildcats advance to their first-ever NCAA regional final with a 26-7 record while the Mustangs end the season with a 26-6 mark.  
            SMSU took a quick 6-1 lead on the Wildcats to force an early timeout in the first set. WSC battled back and used back-to-back kills by Alyssa Frauendorfer to get within 11-10 but that's as close as the Wildcats would get in the first set.  Trailing 17-14, the Mustangs took control of the first set with five straight points and went on to the 25-17 win.
            The Mustangs also grabbed an early 10-5 lead in the second set, but the Wildcats rallied and won the set to even the match at 1-1.  With SMSU leading 11-7, WSC scored six straight points on the serve of sophomore Bree Ackermann to take a 13-11 lead.
            Later in the set, WSC took control thanks to four straight points on a pair of Elizabeth Gebhardt kills, a Katie Hughes service ace and a Michaela Mestl kill for a 21-15 Wildcat lead as the 'Cats finished the set with a 25-21 win.
            The third set saw the Wildcats come out on fire, scoring the first seven points highlighted by a pair of Ackermann service aces for a 7-0 lead. Mestl served up back-to-back aces giving WSC a 10-1 lead.  SMSU got as close as five at 17-12 to force a WSC timeout, but the 'Cats responded with kills from Frauendorfer and Mestl to go up 19-12.
            But SMSU mounted a comeback and took a 22-21 lead in the third set.  However, WSC responded with four straight points to close out the set for the 25-22 win.  An Alex Opperman kill, SMSU attack error, Gebhardt kill and block by Opperman and Mestl sealed the set win for the Wildcats.
            Southwest Minnesota State took the momentum early in the fourth set with an 8-4 lead.  The Mustangs later took a 17-8 lead in the set before WSC stormed back.  Down 18-11, the 'Cats scored six points in a row on kills by Mestl and Hughes followed by four straight SMSU attack errors to get within one at 18-17. 
            After an SMSU timeout, the Mustangs answered with three straight points for a 21-17 advantage.  But WSC scored the next seven points with six straight coming from the serve of Frauendorfer that included a service ace to put the Wildcats in front 24-21.  Following a WSC attack error, the Wildcats closed the comeback and clinched the set and match with a kill from Hughes for the dramatic 25-22 win to complete the match 3-1.
            Wayne State finished the match with a .137 attack percentage, recording 47 kills with 23 errors on 175 attacks.  SMSU hit .195 in the match on 58 kills, 25 errors and 169 attacks. The Mustangs held a 91-73 advantage in digs on the Wildcats, but WSC had an 11-9 edge in blocks.  The Wildcats had seven service aces and just four service errors while forcing SMSU into 11 service errors and just four aces.
            Alyssa Frauendorfer led a balanced attack for Wayne State with 12 kills and six blocks.  Senior outside hitter Katie Hughes produced 10 kills and 21 digs while Elizabeth Gebhardt also accounted for 10 kills. 
            Senior libero Courtney VanGroningen had 20 digs with Michaela Mestl adding 15 to go with a career-high six blocks.  Senior setter Leisa McClintock had 38 set assists while Mestl and Bree Ackermann each had two service aces.
            Wayne State advances to the NCAA Central Regional title match Saturday evening at 7 p.m. against top-seed Concordia-St. Paul.