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MARSHALL, MINN.:  The No. 8 ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team opens a three-game road series this weekend when it travels to the Dakotas to take on conference counterparts Northern State and the University of Mary.  The Mustangs meet up with the Wolves on Friday at 7 p.m. in Aberdeen, S.D., and the Marauders on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Bismarck, N.D.

Conference time:  The Mustangs are 2-1 in conference play after their loss to No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul on Tuesday.  That puts SMSU in a tie for fourth place in the NSIC going into this weekend's conference matches with Northern State and Mary.

Oh snap:  SMSU's Tuesday night loss to Concordia-St. Paul snapped a 12-match winning streak for the Mustangs.  Prior to losing to the Golden Bears, the Mustangs' only loss had been at the hands of Nova Southeastern (Fla.) back on Aug. 29.  The run was tied for the longest in school with a 12-match streak SMSU put together in 2006.

Not too shabby:  The Mustangs have had their share of success against this weekend's opponents.  SMSU leads the series with Northern State 43-8 and is perfect against Mary, winning in all five meetings the two schools have had.

The Tory story:  Junior Tory Brouwer (Maynard, Minn.) has come on strong from her right side position the past few matches, emerging as one of SMSU's top hitters.  Brouwer started the season coming off the bench for the Mustangs but broke into the starting line-up early in the season and has not looked back since.  The south paw has 74 kills (1.61/set) and 38 blocks (.83/set) so far this year.

High-powered offense:  As a team, the Mustangs rank in the top three in the NSIC in two hitting categories;  SMSU is second in team hitting percentage with a .241 average and third in kills with 764 (13.89/set).  SMSU is also third as a team in assists with 713 (12.96/set).  Individually, a trio of Mustangs are in the top five in the conference in several categories.  Kasey Loeslie (Tracy, Minn.) sits at fourth in hitting percentage with .338 and fifth in points with 221 (4.02/set).  Sarah Quiram's (LeSueur, Minn.) 255 digs (4.64/set) is also good for fifth best.

Set it Sara:  Sara Graf (Mount Pleasant, Iowa) is putting together another solid season from her setter position.  The junior had a season-high 55 assists on Sept. 20 against Minnesota State.  Her performance last week earned her NSIC setter of the week honors.  Graf has compiled 575 assists (10.85/set) this season and is fourth in the NSIC the category.  Her 23 service aces (.43/set) ranks third in the conference.

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, Diedrich and Maggie Geske (Shakopee, Minn.), have broken the starting line-up, while Brittany Wenzel (Chaska, Minn.) has dug up her share of balls.

National news:  The Mustangs are ranked No. 8 in the latest CBS College Sports/AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll released Sept. 22.  The Mustangs moved up four spots from their No. 13 ranking two weeks ago.

How they rank: Neither Northern State nor Mary is ranked heading into this weekend's matches.

Best year ever:  The Mustangs are off to their best start in school history.  SMSU's 13-2 record heading into its match against Northern 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 114-37 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 Wolves are coached by Lisa Schriver (13th season, 193-194) ... finished 13-16 last season ... return four starters ... currently have record of 9-4 (1-3, NSIC) ... senior outside hitter Kelsey Aden leads the offense with 137 kills (3.42/set) ... offense is directed by sophomore setter Megan Gilbraith, who has 445 assists (9.08/set) this season ... senior outside hitter Melanie Perez leads the team in digs with 142 (3.02/set) ... the Mustangs lead the series against the Wolves 43-8 ... the two team first met in 1971 and last played on Oct. 17, 2007, with Mustangs winning the match 3-1.





The Marauders are coached by Heidi Sunderland (ninth season, 108-126) ... finished 12-14 last season ... return three starters and libero ... currently have record of 9-4 (1-3, NSIC) ... sophomore outside hitter Amanda Hennessy leads the offense with 177 kills (3.40/set) ... offense is directed by freshman setter Justina Rudzitis, who has 409 assists (7.87/set) this season ... sophomore defensive specialist/libero Kenda Hobbs leads the team in digs with 191 (3.67/set) ... the Mustangs lead the series against the Marauders 5-0 ... the two team first met in 2006 and last played on Nov. 6, 2008, with Mustangs winning the match 3-0.