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With sophomore All-American Setter Kaia Strom (32 set assists, 4 kills) leading the way the M State lady Spartans took care of business in quick fashion on Thursday afternoon at the NJCAA Division III National Volleyball Tournament as they recorded a dominant 3-0 (25-9, 25-7, 25-10) victory over Monroe College from the Bronx.
Strom was at her best as she distributed the ball to her hitters who completed her sets with pinpoint accuracy. The attack at the net was led by freshman Kaleigh Sip (10 kills), the Region 13B Tournament MVP. Faith Marion and Lindsey Kurz added 8 kills apiece and Emily Dehler came through with 6 kills. Dehler also had 4 ace serves and 2 block assists, while Kurz added 2 solo blocks and 3 block assists. Brooke Hovland contributed 2 kills and 2 block assists.
Defensive leaders were Avery Wanner (10 digs), Kendra Emery (7 digs) and Marion (7 digs). Laci Strom served up 3 aces and Marion had 2.
Monroe couldn't find an offensive rhythm as they made 23 hitting errors, compared to just 5 for M State.
The lady Spartans, seeded fifth in the tournament, will now face number four seed, Dallas College of Brookhaven, Texas at 6:00pm Thursday in a quarterfinal round match. The match is being broadcast on Channel 977 FM, one of the Leighton Broadcasting stations.