Box Score Bismarck, ND—Facing their second top-10 ranked team in as many weeks, the University of Mary (3-10, 0-6 NSIC) fell to #7 Southwest Minnesota State University Friday night. U-Mary was swept 3-0 (12-25, 15-25, 17-25) by SMSU.
 
Paige Smith was a bright spot for the Marauders finishing with seven kills and four blocks while hitting .455.
 
The Mustangs were led on the night by Whitney Burmeister's 13 kills. Burmeister hit .381 and added eight digs.
 
U-Mary dug itself a hole committing three consecutive errors to start the first set. The Marauders stuck around and trailed just 11-8 via a 3-0 run. SMSU answered with a 10-2 run to open their lead to 11 as it held on for a 25-12 win. The Marauders hit just .037 in the first set to the Mustangs .407.
 
Again in the second set U-Mary spotted SMSU an early lead. The Marauders committed three errors early on giving the Mustangs a 6-1 lead. U-Mary trailed by as many as 11 on their way to a 25-15 loss. The Marauders improved their effort in the second set hitting .179, but the Mustangs hit a commanding .409.
 
Taking a 3-1 lead in the final set, U-Mary hung tough and trailed just 13-11 midway through the set.  A 4-0 SMSU run forced a U-Mary timeout, but the timeout proved to be ineffective as the Mustangs scored seven of the next ten points to open their lead to nine on their way to a 25-17 win.
 
For the match SMSU outslugged U-Mary .364 to .062.  Defensively the Mustangs held a 31-18 advantage in digs.
 
The Marauders will be back in action on Saturday night as they host the University of Sioux Falls at 6 PM in the McDowell Activity Center. The game Saturday will be Parents Night.
 
#marauders#