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MARSHALL, MINN.:  The No. 7-ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team opens a four-match homestand this weekend when it hosts NSIC-counterparts Minnesota State Moorhead at 7 p.m. on Friday and Minnesota, Crookston at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Conference time:  The Mustangs are 5-1 in NSIC play after picking up a conference win Tuesday on the road against Winona State.  That puts SMSU in sole possession of third place in the NSIC heading into this weekend's matches against MSU Moorhead and Minnesota, Crookston.

Mustang territory:  Volleyball is back at the PE Gym, a place notorious for packing the house.  Last season, SMSU ranked second in NCAA Division II in home attendance with a total of 9,220 spectators over 13 home dates.  That's an average of 709 per match.  The Mustangs drew 836 fans for their season opener against Minnesota State and 1,462 for their match against Concordia-St. Paul.

A rally for the ages: The Mustangs found themselves in an unfamiliar place during the second set of their match against Winona State on Tuesday.  Already trailing 1-0 in the match, SMSU looked like it was about to give up the second set with the score 23-13 in the Warriors' favor.  Not allowing a single Winona State sideout for the remainder of the set, the Mustangs rattled off 12 unanswered points to grab the second set victory.

Brouwer power:  Junior Tory Brouwer (Maynard, Minn.) is the lone Mustang hitter that ranks in the top ten in the NSIC in a hitting category.  The south paw's .321 hitting percentage in conference matches is good for tenth best in the conference.  Senior outside hitter Laura Hegerle (Dodge Center, Minn.) is ninth in the NSIC in points with 79.0 (3.59/set)

Top five:  In conference only stats, the Mustangs rank in the top five in several categories.  SMSU is third in digs with 391 (17.77/set), third in kills with 316 (14.36), fourth in assists with 294 (13.36/set), fifth in hitting percentage with .213, fifth in blocks with 36 (1.64) and fifth in service aces with 33 (1.50/set).

The Sara(h)s:  Sarah Quiram (LeSueur, Minn.)  continues to be SMSU's defensive leader from her libero position.  The senior's 104 digs (4.73/set) this season in conference matches is good for fourth best in the NSIC.  Sara Graf (Mount Pleasant, Iowa) is fifth on the NSIC's stat sheet in assists.  The junior has compiled 225 assists (10.71) in conference matches this season as the quarterback of the Mustang offense.

Freshmen phenoms:  SMSU welcomes several new faces to the team for the 2008 campaign.  Five freshmen dot the Mustang roster for this season.  Two of them, Devin Diedrich (Braham, Minn.) and Maggie Geske (Shakopee, Minn.), have broken the starting line-up, while Brittany Wenzel (Chaska, Minn.) has been a mainstay on the defensive scene.

National news:  The Mustangs are ranked No. 7 in the latest CBS College Sports/AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll released Sept. 29.  The Mustangs moved up one spot from their No. 8 ranking a week ago.

How they rank: Neither MSU Moorhead nor Minnesota, Crookston is ranked coming into this weekend's matches.

Best year ever:  The Mustangs are off to their best start in school history.  SMSU's 16-2 record heading into its match against Winona State has trumped any start by a Mustang volleyball squad since the sport was introduced at the school in 1971.

He's back: Terry Culhane returns for his fifth year as the head coach of SMSU.  Culhane boasts a 117-37 record as the leader the Mustangs.  He's led his teams to four straight NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the regional semifinals last  year.  Culhane is assisted by Jessica Schumacher (second season), Paul Soupir (fifth season) and Mike Dalager (sixth season).



The Dragons are coached by Tammy Blake-Kath (14th season, 242-25) ... finished 19-10 last season ... currently have record of 9-8 (3-2, NSIC) ... junior middle hitter/outside hitter Cathy Turner leads the Dragon offense with 171 kills (2.80/set) ... sophomore setter Leigh Splittsoesser quarterbacks the offense and has 572 assists (9.38) ... defense is lead by senior defensive specialist Calla Oftedahl ... the Mustangs lead the series between the two schools 48-46 ... MSUM first played SMSU in 1975 ... the last meeting between the two schools was on Oct. 20, 2007; SMSU won that match 3-0.




The Golden Eagles are coached by Lee Anderson (second season, 8-36) ... finished 6-24 last season ... currently have record of 2-12 (2-3, NSIC) ... sophomore outside hitter Amber Meyer leads UMC in kills with 140 (2.80/set) ... offense is directed by senior setter Cassie Yates, who has 260 assists (5.20/set) ... two Golden Eagles have more than 100 digs this season; freshman defensive specialist Danielle Rueter and senior outside hitter Heather Foreman both have 115 digs (2.30/set) ... The Mustangs lead the series between the two schools 18-1 ... UMC first played SMSU 1999 ... the last meeting between the two schools was on Oct. 26, 2007; SMSU won that meeting 3-0.