Complete Release (PDF)

MARSHALL, Minn. - The No. 15-ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (18-6, 8-4 NSIC) is on the road this weekend to meet up a with a pair of opponents for the second time this season.  SMSU faces Augustana (11-12, 6-5 NSIC) on Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 18 Wayne State (21-4, 9-2 NSIC) on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Series records: Friday's meeting between SMSU and Augie marks the 49th meeting in a series that dates back to 1972.  The Vikings hold the advantage in the series and are 29-18-1 against the Mustangs.  SMSU has already defeated Augie once this season, posting a 3-1 win back on Sept. 12.  Saturday's contest against WSC will be the 40th match between the two schools.  The Wildcats lead the series 20-18-1.  The Mustangs fell to WSC earlier this season when they dropped a 3-2 decision on Sept. 15 in their home and conference opener.

On the tube:  Friday's meeting with Augie will be broadcast regionally by Midcontinent Communications.  Fans who are not Midco customers can find the feed at www.northernsun.tv.

How they rank:  Augie enters this weekend unranked in the latest AVCA national poll; WSC checked in at No. 18.  For more about this weekend's opponents, turn to page 4.

Last weekend:  The Mustangs split a pair of conference matches, picking up a 3-0 win over St. Cloud State on Friday and falling 3-0 to No. 1 Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday.  Saturday's loss snapped an eight-match winning streak for the Mustangs.

Another milestone:  Senior Sara Graf (Mount Pleasant, Iowa) moved into the No. 1 spot in career assists at SMSU on Saturday against Concordia-St. Paul, passing Sarah Rittenhouse's career mark of 4,245.  Graf finished the match with 14 assists and now has 4,250 career assists.  The setter is no stranger to the Mustang record book.  She currently holds the record for assists in a season (1,671 in 2007), assists per set in a season (13.48 in 2007) and assists in a single-match (73 vs. Minnesota State Moorhead on Oct. 3, 2008).  Graf has tallied a team-best 763 assists (11.22/set) so far this season.

Aces wild:  Sophomore Brittany Wenzel (Chaska, Minn) put together an impressive performance from behind the service line last Friday against St. Cloud State.  The defensive specialist aced a career-high six balls.  Absent from the NSIC statistical rankings last week, Wenzel now finds herself No. 10 in the conference in aces per set.

Region rankings:  SMSU was ranked fourth in the first Central Region rankings of 2009 released last week by the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Committee.  Concordia University, St. Paul took the top spot.
        Team    Overall    In-Region
    1.    Concordia-St. Paul    21-0    13-0
    2.    Minnesota State Mankato    19-2    11-0
    3.    Minnesota Duluth    16-4    13-2
    4.    Southwest Minnesota State    17-5    14-3
    5.    Nebraska-Kearney    20-1    20-0
    6.    Mesa State    12-8    12-7
    7.    Regis (Colo.)    10-8    9-6
    8.    Colorado-Colorado Springs    12-7    12-6
    9.    Wayne State (Neb.)    19-4    16-3
    10.    Metropolitan State    13-5    11-5

National news:  SMSU remained at No. 15 in the latest AVCA Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll released on Oct. 12.  The Mustangs received 349 points in the poll. NSIC neighbor Concordia University, St. Paul retained the top spot in the poll.  Five NSIC teams found their way into this week's rankings.  This is the second consecutive week SMSU has been No. 15.

The coach:  Terry Culhane returns for his sixth season as the head man of Mustang volleyball, and his name might as well be synonymous with success.  The SMSU alum has yet to encounter a losing season or one that he hasn't made the NCAA Tournament.  Culhane boasts a 147-47 record at SMSU.  He is assisted by Jessica Petersen, Paul Soupir, Mike Dalager, Katie Gangelhoff and Raftyn Rignell.

According to the coaches:  The NSIC's 14 head coaches tabbed SMSU fifth in their annual preseason poll.  The Mustangs received 125 points in the poll.  Concordia University, St. Paul, national champions for the past two seasons, was selected first for the sixth consecutive season with 169 points and 13 first-place votes.  Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State and Wayne State fell in ahead of SMSU.  MSU received one first-place vote.
        Team (first place votes)    Points
    1.    Concordia-St. Paul (13)    169
    2.     Minnesota Duluth    145
    3.     Minnesota State (1)    143
    4.     Wayne State    128
    5.     Southwest Minnesota State    125
    6.     Augustana    122
    7.     Minnesota State Moorhead    99   
    8.     Winona State    82
    9.     St. Cloud State    65
    10.     Northern State    64
    11.     Bemidji State    44
    12.     Minnesota, Crookston    43
    13.     Upper Iowa    26
    14.     Mary    23

Senior momentum:  Three seniors will lead the Mustangs through the 2009 season, all with a wealth of experience.  Sara Graf (Mount Pleasant, Iowa), Leah Ashburn (Hector, Minn.) and Tory Brouwer (Maynard, Minn.) hold down the posts as this year's elders.

Stay connected:  Stay connected with SMSU volleyball all season long at www.smsumustangs.com.  The Mustangs are also on Facebook and Twitter; just log onto www.facebook.com/smsumustangs and www.twitter.com/smsumustangs.  For the latest video highlights and new episodes of the Mustang Minute check out SMSU's official YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/smsuathletics.

We'll do it live!:  Live statistics for all of SMSU's home games can be viewed by logging onto www.smsumustangs.com and following the live stats link on the right side of the volleyball home page.

Let's see it:  All NSIC volleyball matches are video broadcast live and free of charge on the Penn Atlantic Network.  Check out www.northernsun.tv to learn more.