THE FIRST SERVE
The fourth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State women's volleyball team (12-3, 6-1 NSIC) continues its four-match homestand this weekend with a pair of matches. The Mustangs will take on the Upper Iowa Peacocks (9-7, 3-4 NSIC) at 7 p.m. on Friday night, followed by a meeting with the No. 7 Winona State  Warriors (14-2, 5-2 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. SMSU is currently on a season-high six match winning streak following a loss to begin NSIC play on Sept. 15.

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE
Upper Iowa- Upper Iowa begins the weekend on a three-match winning streak, including last weekend's home sweeps over Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. The Peacocks are led by Alisha VanderWoude who has racked up a team-high 129 kills and is hitting .313. She also leads the team in blocks with 31. Chelsea Berry ranks second on the squad with 98 kills, while Haley Poula has 92 kills. Malissa LeClaire has dished out a team-high 346 assists and has 120 digs.

Winona State- Winona State, which plays at Sioux Falls on Friday night, is coming off home sweeps of Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston last weekend. Taylor Goar is the team leader with 186 kills and is hitting .204, while Danielle Rampart has 147 kills and is hitting .247. McKenna Larsen paces the offense with 556 assists (ranking fifth in NCAA), while Jamie Cairncross leads the defense with 225 digs with Rampart adding 211 digs. The Warriors rank third in Division II in kills per set and are solidi on defense, limiting opponents to a .116 hitting percentage which ranks 12th in the country.

SERIES HISTORY
Upper Iowa- Southwest Minnesota State is a perfect 20-0 all-time versus Upper Iowa in a series that started in 2004. SMSU leads 16-0 since UIU joined the NSIC in 2006 and is 9-0 all-time in the PE Gym. SMSU has dropped just four sets in the 20 meetings. A season ago, SMSU won a pair of 3-0 matches versus UIU.

Winona State- Southwest Minnesota State is 63-30-1 all-time versus Winona State in a series that started in 1974. SMSU is 26-12 all-time in Marshall and has won seven straight in the PE Gym following a WSU victory on Sept. 29, 2007. WSU defeated SMSU 3-2 in last season's NSIC tournament semifinals to snap a 13-game losing streak since 2007. SMSU leads the series 40-4 since the 1993 season.

NATIONAL NEWS
SMSU is currently ranked fourth in the most recent AVCA poll released on Monday. The Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 139 consecutive polls dating back to Sept. 5, 2006, and have been ranked in the Top 10 for 43 consecutive polls.

MUSTANGS BY THE NCAA NUMBERS
In the latest NCAA stats through Sunday, the Mustangs are the second best team in the country in kills per set (14.9), second in assists per set (14.0), third in hitting percentage (.321) and 22nd in blocks per set (2.29). Megan Larson is ranked first in the country in assists per set (12.52) and eighth in total assists (651). Taylor Reiss is third in the country in kills per set (5.08), fourth in total kills (264) and 11th in attacks per set (12.31). Eisha Oden came in ranked fifth in hitting percentage (.431), while Sarah Parker is 22nd in hitting percentage (.387).

SMSU AMONG THE CONFERENCE LEADERS (NSIC Matches)
In NSIC matches only, SMSU lead the conference in hitting percentage (.341), kills (14.88), service aces (1.96) and assists (14.1), while ranking second in opponent hitting percentage (.138). SMSU is also third in blocks (2.46). Eisha Oden ranks first in hitting percentage (.492), while Sarah Parker is second (.437). Taylor Reiss is second in kills (5.12) and second in points (5.7). Megan Larson leads the NSIC in assists (12.7).

NSIC SETTER OF THE WEEK
Junior Megan Larson was named NSIC Setter of the Week on Monday after helping the Mustangs to a pair of NSIC home sweeps over No. 11 Northern State and MSU Moorhead. She finished the weekend with 85 assists, averaging an NSIC high 14.17 per set and also added 14 digs, six blocks and two kills. In the win over NSU, Larson had 46 assists, four digs and one service ace, while in the victory over MSUM, she dished out 39 assists, had 10 digs and recorded one block solo and five block assists.
 
NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Taylor Reiss received her second NSIC Offensive Player of the Week of the season on Sept. 26. She was also named NSIC Player of the Week on Sept. 6. Reiss earned the conference's Defensive Player of the Week recognition twice in 2015.

MUSTANGS IN THE All-TIME RECORD BOOK
SMSU currently has four players climbing the all-time ranks of various statistical categories in the program record book. Megan Larson is second all-time in assists per set (10.54) and now ranks fifth in total assists (3,245). Taylor Reiss is currently third all-time in attack percentage (.333). Eisha Oden is ranked fifth in program history in career attack percentage (.324) and eighth all-time in blocks per set (1.02), while Sarah Parker is eighth in career attack percentage (.307).

STARTING STRONG
The Mustangs have gotten off to fast starts so far this season winning 13 out of 15 opening sets thus far. SMSU has outscored its opponents by a combined 364-240 in the first set through 15 matches this year.

SEEING DOUBLE
Taylor Reiss currently leads the Mustangs with seven double-doubles this season. Megan Larson has recorded four double-doubles, while Kaylee Burmeister has three on the season.

TOUGH COMPETITION
Southwest Minnesota State faces another tough schedule in the 2016 as five schools from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference made it into the AVCA preseason Top 25 poll while three of those schools made it into the Top-10 including top ranked Concordia-St. Paul. Four of the Mustangs' six scheduled non-conference opponents appeared in the AVCA preseason Top 25, including 2015 national runners-up, Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla). SMSU is currently 5-3 in matches against the nation's Top 25, including a 3-0 victory over second ranked Wayne State on Sept. 17.

HOME SWEET HOME
Since Terry Culhane took over as head coach at SMSU in 2004, the Mustangs have compiled a 114-26 record at the PE Gym. The Mustangs have won at least seven home matches since the start of the 2003 season and are 3-1 so far this year.

MUSTANGS CONFERENCE HISTORY
The Mustangs are a combined 188-43 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches during Terry Culhane's tenure. Since conference schedules increased to 20 matches in 2008, SMSU is 139-28 in NSIC competition.

NUMBER 900
The Mustangs surpassed the 900 win milestone as a program on Sept. 10, when they beat Angelo State (Texas) 3-0. The Mustangs are also a combined 362-173 all-time in conference matches since their first season of volleyball in 1971.

RECORD BOOK REISS
Sophomore Taylor Reiss, set the Southwest Minnesota State record for kills (35) in 4 sets against Lewis (Ill.) on Sept. 3 and was just three shy of the single-match record. Her performance broke a record that had stood 26 years having been set by Beth Elliot versus Winona State back in October of 1990. Her 79 total attacks were the fourth most attempts in the program's history for four sets and tied for eighth in all matches.

MUSTANGS LEAVE MARK ON MILE HIGH CITY
SMSU traveled to Denver for the Colorado Premier Challenge earlier this season for the fourth consecutive season and the eighth time since the tournament's inception. The Mustangs are now 23-9 all-time in the Colorado Premier after making it to the championship match for the third time ever this season.  Four SMSU players, Sarah Parker, Megan Larson, Taylor Reiss and Eisha Oden, were named to the 2016 All-Tournament Team. The Mustangs have now had 18 players receive All-Tournament selections in their history at the Colorado Premier.