THE FIRST SERVE
The No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team will open the 2015 season when it travels to Pensacola, Fla., for the annual West Florida Tournament hosted by The University of West Florida. The Mustangs will open the tournament against No. 21 Arkansas-Fort Smith on Friday at 2 p.m. before facing West Florida at 7 p.m. that evening. SMSU will conclude the tournament playing Saint Leo (Fla.) at 9 a.m., and Missouri-St. Louis at 4:30 p.m., on Saturday. All times are CDT.

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE
ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH—Arkansas-Fort Smith, a member of the Heartland Conference, will open up its 2015 season at the tournament after finishing 2014 with a 29-5 overall record and 15-1 in loop play. The Lions faced Tampa (Fla.) in the 2014 NCAA Final Four and were defeated 3-1.

WEST FLORIDA—West Florida, a member of the Gulf South Conference, will open up the 2015 season facing Missouri-St. Louis before playing SMSU at the West Florida Tournament. The Argonauts finished the 2014 campaign 24-8 overall and 17-3 in the GSC.

SAINT LEO—Saint Leo, a member of the Sunshine State Conference, will open up the 2015 season at the West Florida Tournament playing Missouri-St. Louis and Bridgeport before playing SMSU on Saturday. The Lions finished the 2014 season 19-14 overall and 8-8 in the SSC.

MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS—Missouri-St. Louis, a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, will open up the 2015 season at the West Florida Tournament playing Saint Leo, West Florida and Bridgeport before closing the weekend playing SMSU on Saturday. The Tritons finished the 2014 season 16-12 overall and 11-7 in the GLVC.

SERIES HISTORY
Southwest Minnesota State will face a few new opponents in the West Florida Tournament this weekend as SMSU will play Arkansas-Fort Smith, Saint Leo and Missouri-St. Louis for the first time in program history. West Florida and SMSU will meet for the fourth time on Friday night with the Mustangs winning the last two contests and holding a 2-1 record against the Argonauts.

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 286-81, including 165-39 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.

QUICK RECAP
SMSU is coming off a historic season after setting new heights for the program. The Mustangs finished the 2014 season with a 26-10 overall record and 15-5 in the NSIC while also claiming the program's first Central Region championship and also finishing national-runner up in the NCAA tournament.