Northwest Missouri State Athletics

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The No. 10-ranked Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs tallied a 3-0 sweep of the Northwest Missouri State University volleyball squad Friday at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Griffon Classic.
 
The Mustangs won by set scores of 25-20, 25-20, 25-18. The Mustangs improved to 5-1, while Northwest dropped to 3-2 on the season.

Northwest worked back from a 12-8 deficit to tie the opening set at 12-12, but the Mustangs later won six straight points after a 17-17 tie and took the set 25-20. Earlier, Abby Bulthuis helped Northwest answer early with kills for 1-1, 6-7 and 16-15, while Gabrielle Gartner and Jada Smith also finished swings as the teams traded points through the middle of the set. Northwest's 4-0 push to 12-12 included kills from Smith, Gartner and Smith again, and a Gartner-Maddie Roenfeld block later tied the set at 13-13. Chloee Hayes put away a kill to make it 17-17, but SMSU followed with the decisive stretch to 23-17 before Northwest Mo. St. added late points on kills by Hayes and Gartner and an opponent attack error.

Northwest led 20-19 late in the second set, but the Mustangs won the final six rallies to take the set 25-20. Earlier, Northwest answered a 12-8 deficit with seven points over the next eight rallies, including four straight points on Mya Karrick's serve. Gabrielle Gartner and Bulthuis produced kills during that stretch, and Gartner combined with Natalie Herrington on a block as Northwest moved in front 13-12 and later built a 15-13 edge. Ellery Luhring added a service ace for a 17-14 lead, and kills by Jada Smith and Roenfeld helped the home team stay ahead before SMSU's closing run.

Northwest made its main push midway through the third set, cutting a 13-7 deficit to 15-13 behind kills from Elle Heckenlively and blocks involving Roenfeld, Karrick and Gabrielle Gartner. Earlier, the Bearcats answered the Mustangs' 3-0 start by getting two Roenfeld kills, a Jada Smith kill and a Roenfeld service ace to tie the set at 5-5. Smith continued to give Northwest sideout production with four kills in the set, including points that made it 17-14 and 19-17. SMSU pulled away late with points from 20-17 through 24-17 before Northwest got one more point on a service error, and the Mustangs closed the set 25-18.

Jada Smith led Northwest with nine kills while hitting .348 and adding five digs. Gabrielle Gartner finished with seven kills, hit .261 and totaled five blocks. Karrick recorded 27 assists and 10 digs. Luhring collected 14 digs and added one service ace.

Up next, Northwest faces Northern State Saturday at 9 a.m. in St. Joseph.