Tournament MVP Taylor Reiss had 25 kills in leading Southwest Minnesota State to a 3-0 volleyball sweep of No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Concordia (St. Paul) in the NSIC championship match on Sunday in St. Paul.
The Mustangs (28-3), the No. 2 seed in the tournament and the No. 4-ranked team in Division II, won by scores of 25-19, 25-21, 25-14 over the Golden Bears (28-3).
Reis, a junior outside hitter, also hit .397 in the match. Sophomore Brooklyn Lewis had 18 kills for the Golden Bears, whose 25-match home winning streak ended.
The championship gives the Mustangs the NSIC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament. The 64-team field will be announced at 6:30 p.m. Monday on www.ncaa.com.
Oklahoma State routs Gophers in wrestling
Fifth-ranked Ethan Lizak opened the Gophers' dual with Oklahoma State by beating third-ranked Nick Piccininni at 125 pounds, but it was the lone win for sixth-ranked Minnesota in a 30-3 loss to the No. 3 Cowboys in Stillwater, Okla.
The dual victory was the 400th for Cowboys coach John Smith, one of seven Division I coaches to accomplish the feat.
The Cowboys' victories included one for two-time defending national champion Dean Heil, who beat eight-ranked Tommy Thorn 3-1 for at 141 for his 99th career triumph.
Tommies lose in soccer
Fifth-ranked North Park got a goal from Shatil Khoury in the 30th minute and beat visiting St. Thomas 1-0 in the NCAA Division III men's soccer quarterfinals, ending the season for the fourth-ranked Tommies (22-2) and their 19-match winning streak a victory short of the Final Four.
Etc.
• St. Thomas will host Berry (Ga.) at noon Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs. Berry (11-0), in its first-ever playoff game, beat Huntingdon 34-20 on Saturday.
• Also at noon Saturday, Minnesota State Mankato (12-0) will play host to Midwestern State in the Division II football playoffs.
