#12 Southwest Minnesota State rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat #7 Wayne State College Thursday evening in Northern Sun Conference volleyball at Rice Auditorium by scores of 24-26, 19-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-12.  The Wildcats are now 17-4 and 10-2 in the NSIC while the Mustangs are 18-3 and 9-3 in league games.
            The opening set saw the Wildcats trail until the very end when rallying for a 26-24 win over SMSU.  WSC was down 18-14 and later in the set 21-19.  A Mustang attack error, Maggie Brahmer kill and Taya Beller service ace gave the 'Cats a 22-21 advantage.  Following three ties and the score at 24-24, WSC used kills by Brahmer and Brooklyn Kusler to close the first set with a 26-24 win.
            Brahmer had seven kills on 10 swings in the opening set for WSC as the 'Cats hit .385 as a team with 16 kills and just one attack error in the opening set.
            The second set featured 12 ties and seven lead changes with the Wildcats closing the set strong for a 25-19 win.
            With the 'Cats trailing 14-13, WSC reeled off eight of the next nine points to take control of the set for a 21-15 cushion before ending with a 25-19 set win.
            Channatee Robles had six kills and three blocks to lead the Wildcats in the set.  WSC forced eight SMSU attack errors in the set with five blocks.
            The visiting Mustangs gained momentum midway through the third set to produce a 25-21 set win to extend the match.  With SMSU leading 20-11, the 'Cats rallied and got as close as two by scoring seven straight points to make the score 20-18.
            A kill by Brahmer forced an SMSU timeout to get WSC within one at 21-20, but the Mustangs scored the next three points for a 24-20 lead and ended the set with a 25-21 win.
            Robles had five kills followed by Brahmer with four in the set as SMSU produced 20 kills.
            SMSU jumped out to an early 9-3 lead in the fourth set and withstood a Wildcat rally in the middle of the set for a 25-19 win to force a fifth set.
            Beller and Robles each had five kills for the Wildcats, who were held to a .111 hitting percentage.
            The two teams traded five ties and one lead change early in the fifth set, but the 'Cats could not regain the lead after a 5-4 lead as the Mustangs rallied for a 15-12 fifth set win.
            Trailing 9-6 and 11-8, WSC battled back to even the score at 12-12 following a kill by Brahmer, service ace from Brooke Peltz and kills from Kusler and Beller.  But the Mustangs closed the set with three straight kills for a 15-12 win.
            SMSU held a .235-.199 advantage in hitting over the Wildcats.  WSC held a 7-4 edge in service aces and out-blocked the Mustangs 15-7.
            Robles had 19 kills for WSC followed by Brahmer and Beller with 17 apiece.  Beller had a team-high eight blocks followed by Taylor Bunjer with seven and Brahmer six.  Senior libero Brooke Peltz accounted for 28 digs with Robles adding 16 for her third double-double of the year.  Freshman setter Molly Romano also produced a double-double with 56 assists and 12 digs.
            The Wildcats are home again Saturday hosting Sioux Falls at 4 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.