Complete Release (PDF)

MARSHALL, Minn. - The No. 14-ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (15-5, 5-3 NSIC) closes a four-match road stand this weekend, traveling to Winona State (6-13, 4-4 NSIC) and Upper Iowa (12-10, 3-5 NSIC) for a pair of conference contests.  SMSU and WSU meet up on Friday at 7 p.m., while the Mustangs and Peacocks are scheduled for a 5 p.m. match on Saturday.

Series records: Friday's meeting with WSU will be the 84th meeting between the two programs in a series that began in 1974.  The Mustangs are 53-29-1 against the Warriors all-time, including a 3-0 win just two weeks ago in Marshall.  Saturday's contest with UIU marks the 10th time SMSU has met up with the Peacocks.  The Mustangs have yet to lose to UIU; SMSU, in fact, has never lost a set to the Peacocks.

How they rank:  Neither WSU nor UIU are ranked in the latest AVCA national poll.  For more information about this weekend's opponents, turn to page 4.

Keep on rollin':  SMSU seems to have a nice rhythm going as the Mustangs have put together a five match, 15 set winning streak.  That trend continued last weekend with 3-0 sweeps over Minnesota State Moorhead and Minnesota, Crookston.  This streak comes after the Mustangs opened the conference season on a three-match losing skid.

Twice is  nice, and so is a school record:  The NSIC announced Monday that SMSU freshman middle blocker Mary Groth (West Bend, Wis.) was named offensive player of the week.  The nod marks the second time the freshman has received the honor this season. Groth put together a productive and efficient performance for the SMSU last week en route to leading the Mustangs to a perfect 3-0 record.  In three matches, Groth tallied 44 kills (4.89/set) and posted a stellar .489 hitting percentage.  Groth's best performance came against Minnesota, Crookston on Saturday when she set a school record for hitting percentage in a single match by killing 15 balls in 21 swings with no errors for a .714 mark in the category.   She broke the previous record of .700 held by current Mustang Devin Diedrich (Braham, Minn.) and Renne Barenz.  Groth led SMSU in kills in every match last week, finishing with at least 14 in each contest.  Other week totals for the freshman included four digs and 10 blocks.

King of the hill:  Defensive specialist Ashley King (Caledonia, Minn.) has worked her way into some solid time in SMSU's back row as of late.  The junior came off the bench last weekend and successfully offered some defensive assistance, digging up career high eight balls against MSU Moorhead on Friday.

National news:  SMSU stayed at No. 14 in the latest AVCA Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll released on Sept. 28.  The Mustangs received 375 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 marks the third straight week SMSU has checked in at No. 14.

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.

Newbies:  While SMSU welcomes back eight returners for 2009, the Mustangs have also been introduced to just as many new faces.  Six freshmen and two junior transfers fill out this season's roster.

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 144-46 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 have 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

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.