Box Score
MARSHALL, MINN. - Sara Graf recorded a match-high 58 assists and
Laura Hegerle and
Kasey Loeslie each had a match-high 14 kills to lead No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State to a 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-21, 25-18) conference victory over No. 23 Wayne State (Neb.) Saturday afternoon in Marshall. For the Mustangs, it was the second top-25 team that they defeated over the weekend after sweeping No. 20 Augustana on Friday.
The Mustangs improve to 23-3 (12-2, NSIC), while the Wildcats drop to 20-5 (9-4, NSIC).
Hegerle and Loeslie's performance was accompanied by the supporting cast of
Devin Diedrich and
Tory Brouwer, who finished with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. The ensemble lead a hard-hitting offensive attack by SMSU.
It was a milestone night for Graf. Not only did she surpass the 1,000-assist mark for the season, she also moved into the No. 3 spot at SMSU in career assists, surpassing Jill Dauenhauer's 3,179 career assists. The junior setter now has 3,181 assists in her tenure as a Mustang.
Sarah Quiram kept the Mustang defense in check, digging up 25 balls on the afternoon.
Putting together a suffocating blocking performance in the opening set, SMSU surged to an eight point lead that WSC was unable to respond to. Fittingly, The knock-out punch came from SMSU's one-two hitting punch as a pair of kills by Loeslie and Hegerle finished the set.
But after falling behind by five midway through the second set, the Mustangs were unable close the gap. A .484 hitting performance by the Wildcats keyed their run to the set victory.
Behind the serving of Graf, SMSU opened the third set on a 8-0 run. That lead, however, gave way late in the set. But the Mustangs rattled off four unanswered points in the closing points and a Hegerle kill at 24-21 was the clincher.
The momentum continued to be in SMSU's favor, and the Mustangs finished the fourth and final set on an 8-1 run to take the match.
Brittany Van Beek's 16 kills and Diedra Artz's 27 assists led WSC.
SMSU is on the road for a Halloween weekend double header next week, taking on No. 18 Minnesota Duluth on Friday and Bemidji State on Saturday.
