THE FIRST SERVE 
The No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team will continue Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action this weekend as it hosts No. 1 Minnesota Duluth on Friday night at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear red to the match for a "red-out" to promote awareness for heart disease among women. The Mustangs will then face St. Cloud State on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Both matches will be played in the PE Gym on the campus of SMSU. 

"RED-OUT" MATCH
The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team will host the fifth annual "red-out" event to benefit and promote awareness for heart disease among women during Friday night's match against UMD. Head Coach Culhane, who suffered a heart attack in 2010, felt that his experience offered a unique opportunity for his volleyball program to help educate the public about this deadly disease.

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE
MINNESOTA DULUTH—UMD will enter the contest with a 13-2 overall recorded an 6-1 in the NSIC. Minnesota Duluth is also ranked No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Poll for the fourth consecutive week. The Bulldog's only conference loss came from the hand of Northern State—who was rank No. 19 at the time—who swept UMD.

ST. CLOUD STATE—SCSU will enter the weekend with a 7-8 overall record and 3-4 in the conference. St. Cloud State will face Sioux Falls on Friday night before playing the Mustangs on Saturday. The Huskies snapped a four-game skid last week as they swept both Minot State and U-Mary at home.

SERIES HISTORY
MINNESOTA DULUTH—Southwest Minnesota State will meet with UMD for the 80th time in program history on Friday night with the Bulldogs holding a 63-16 advantage in a series that started back in 1973. The Mustangs defeated the Bulldogs last season in the Central Region Tournament Championship match to snap a five-match losing streak. The Bulldogs hold a 22-8 record in matches played in the PE Gym with the Mustangs last defeating the Bulldogs in 2012. SMSU lost to UMD in both NSIC regular-season matches a season ago and in the conference tournament in the second round.

ST. CLOUD STATE—SMSU will face St. Cloud State for the 41st time in program history on Saturday afternoon with the Mustangs holding a 22-18 advantage in a series that started back in 1972. The Mustangs have taken the last 15 contests and 24 of the last 26 with their last loss coming back in 2004 in Marshall. The Mustangs have only given up three sets in the last 15 matches as they have swept the Huskies the last nine times.

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 298-84, including 170-41 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.

NEARING 300
Head coach Terry Culhane is nearing his 300th win in his 12th season as he has recorded 298 wins at SMSU and is only 10 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. Minnesota Duluth (No. 1), Concordia-St. Paul (No. 3), SMSU (No. 5), Northern State (No. 8) and Wayne State (No. 10).

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. Minnesota Duluth (No. 1), Concordia-St. Paul (No. 2), SMSU (No. 5), Northern State (No. 8), Wayne State (No. 10), Augustana (No. 20), Winona State (No. 24) and Minnesota State (RV).

HOME SWEET HOME
Since Terry Culhane took over as head coach at SMSU in 2004, the Mustangs have compiled a 103-25 record at the PE Gym. The Mustangs have won seven or more matches and have not lost more than four at home since the 2003 season.