THE FIRST SERVE 
The No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team will continue Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action this weekend as it travels north to Minnesota Crookston on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Mustangs will then face Bemidji State on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE
MINNESOTA CROOKSTON—UMC will enter the contest with a 7-10 overall recorded an 3-6 in the NSIC. Minnesota Crookston suffered losses in it last two matches against ranked teams. The Golden Eagles were swept in both matches against No. 20 Augustana and No. 10 Wayne State last weekend. UMC's three conference wins come from MSU Moorhead, Minot State and St. Cloud State.

BEMIDJI STATE—BSU will enter the weekend with a 4-14 overall record and 2-7 in the conference. Bemidji State will face Sioux Falls on Friday night before playing the Mustangs on Saturday. The Beavers are on a five-game losing streak with thier last win coming on Sept. 25 to Minot State. BSU's other conference win comes from Minnesota Crookston on Sept. 22.

SERIES HISTORY
MINNESOTA CROOKSTON—Southwest Minnesota State will meet with UMC for the 30th time in program history on Friday night with the Mustangs holding a dominating  28-1 advantage in a series that started back in 1999. The Mustangs have won the last 20 matches with their last and only loss coming in 2003 in Crookston. In the last 20 matches, the Mustangs have loss just eight sets but have swept the Beavers 14 time in those matches.

BEMIDJI STATE—SMSU will face Bemidji State for the 91st time in program history on Saturday afternoon with the Mustangs holding a 60-30 advantage in a series that started back in 1977. The Mustangs have taken the last 21 contests with their last loss coming back in 2003 in Bemidji. In the last 21 matches, the Mustangs have loss just seven sets but have swept the Beavers 15 times in those matches.

HEAD COACH
Terry Culhane is in his 12th season at the helm of the Mustang volleyball team. During his tenure Culhane has directed the Mustangs to an overall record of 300-84, including 172-41 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches. Culhane has 11-consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, including seven appearances in the region semifinals and two region championship appearances along with the program's first ever national championship appearance in 2014.

300 WINS
Head coach Terry Culhane recorded his 300th win in his 12th season with a sweep over St. Cloud State on Oct. 10. Culhane is now only eight wins behind program-record holder Deb Denbeck (1985-2002) who has tallied 308 wins in 17 seasons.

TOUGH COMPETITION
Five of the top-10 teams and 11 of the top 25 in this week's AVCA poll are in the Central Region. Concordia-St. Paul (No.1), SMSU (No.4), Minnesota Duluth (No. 5), Northern State (No.6), Wayne State (No.9), Central Oklahoma (No.11), Nebraska-Kearney (No.12), Central Missouri (No.13), Washburn (No.15), Augustana (No.20) and Winona State (No.25).

AROUND THE NSIC
Eight of the 16 teams in the NSIC are in the top-25 or receiving votes in this week's AVCA poll. CSP (No. 1), SMSU (No. 4), UMD (No. 5), NSU (No. 6), WSC (No. 9) Augustana (No. 20), WSU (No. 25) and MSU (RV).