MARSHALL, Minn.- The fourth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State women's volleyball team (20-4, 14-2 NSIC) will make take its final road trip on its 2016 conference schedule this weekend as they first travel to face No. 14 Northern State (16-8, 9-7) for the second time this year after defeating NSU 3-0 on Sept. 30. The Mustangs will then travel to face MSU Moorhead (9-15, 4-12 NSIC) for the second time as well having defeated the Dragons 3-0 on Oct. 1. SMSU enters the week after having its longest win streak (14) of the season snapped against top ranked Minnesota Duluth last Saturday.

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE:
Northern State- The No. 14 Northern State Wolves are coming off of two losses in five sets last weekend. The Wolves lost to No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State both on the road dropping them two places in both the conference and national rankings. Ashley Rozell ranks fourth in the NSIC in assists in conference matches only (11.74 a/set) and surpassed 1,000 assists on the season with 103 assists in two matches last weekend. Holly Vancura leads the team in kills (260) while Lauren McCafferty is second (219). NSU is tied for third in the NSIC in service aces (94), fifth in digs (951), and sixth in team hitting percentage (.240) in conference matches only.

MSU Moorhead- MSU Moorhead is also coming off of a weekend in which it suffered two road losses at No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. MSU Moorhead is currently ranked third in the conference in digs (985) in conference matches only while Monica  Vega leads the NSIC with 5.61 digs/set. Carly Masloski is the team's leader in kills (3.19 k/set).

SERIES HISTORY:
Northern State- SMSU currently owns a commanding 55-9 lead in the all-time series with Northern State in a matchup that dates back to the 1978 season. SMSU has won the last 22 meetings and has only lost three sets in the previous nine matches combined. The Mustangs are 50-7 all-tim against the Wolves in conference matches. SMSU won the only meeting earlier this year, 25-12, 27-25, 25-20.

MSU Moorhead- The Mustangs lead the all-time series with MSU Moorhead 60-46 after winning the previous 15 matches and 17 of the last 18. SMSU's last loss to the Dragons came back in September of the 2006 season. The all-time matchup, which dates back to 1975, was dominated by MSU Moorhead early but has been controlled by SMSU in recent years who are 25-5 since the turn of the century. The Mustangs won the first meeting this year, 25-13, 25-16, 25-11.

ANOTHER MUSTANGS' 20 WIN SEASON: With SMSU's win over St. Cloud State on Oct. 28, the Mustangs have now won at least 20 matches in 14 consecutive season's including every year under coach Terry Culhane's direction. SMSU has recorded 17 seasons with at least 25 wins since the start of the program in 1971 and has reached 30 wins once during Culhane's tenure back in 2012.

SMSU LEADERS: Taylor Reiss currently leads the Mustangs in kills with 410 (4.88 k/set). Eisha Oden is the team leader in hitting percentage (.420). Sarah Parker is the Mustangs' leader in blocks with 82 (.98 blk/set) while Oden is a close second with 74 (.89 blk/set). Amber Messner leads SMSU in digs (372), Kaylee Burmeister has the most service aces (30), and setter, Megan Larson, has tallied 1,076 assists (12.81 a/set).

NATIONAL NEWS: SMSU is currently ranked second in the most recent AVCA poll released last Monday and -- 16 first place votes. The Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top-25 for 143 consecutive polls dating back to Sept. 5, 2006, and have been ranked in the Top-10 for 47 consecutive polls.

MUSTANGS BY THE NCAA NUMBERS: SMSU has had one of the most effective attacks in all of Division II this season. According to NCAA DII rankings as of Sunday, the Mustangs are first in the country in kills per set (15.05), first in assists per set (14.15), and second in hitting percentage (.321). Megan Larson is first in the country in assists per set (12.81) and sixth in total assists (1,076). Taylor Reiss is third in the country in kills per set (4.88), ninth in total kills (410) and 11th in attacks per set (11.96). Eisha Oden is third in hitting percentage (.420), while Sarah Parker is eighth in hitting percentage (.394).

SMSU AMONG THE CONFERENCE LEADERS (NSIC Matches): In NSIC matches only, SMSU leads the conference in kills (15.09 k/set), assists (14.27 a/set), hitting percentage (.329), second in service aces (1.62 per set), and third in opponent hitting percentage (.164). SMSU is fourth in blocks (2.23 blk/set). Eisha Oden (.437) and Sarah Parker (.420) are first and second respectively in hitting percentage while Megan Larson is first in assists (13.05 a/set). Taylor Reiss is tied for first in kills (4.80 k/set) while Parker is fourth in blocks (1.04 blk/set). Amber Messner is also eighth in digs (4.32 dig/set)

NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore Kaylee Burmeister was recognized as the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches' Association Division II National Player of the Week on Oct. 18. While helping the Mustangs earn two road victories the previous weekend, Burmeister recorded 34 kills with just three errors on 63 attacks, finishing the weekend with a .492 hitting percentage and averaging 4.25 kills per set. She has produced seven double-double performances this season including five in her last six matches.

NSIC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Sophomore Kaylee Burmeister was named NSIC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 18 following her 34 kills and .492 hitting percentage in two matches the previous weekend that included a career high 21 kills in an SMSU win over Concordia-St. Paul. This marks the third Offensive POW award for a Mustang player this year. Sophomore 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.

NSIC SETTER OF THE WEEK: Junior Megan Larson was named NSIC Setter of the Week on Oct. 17 for the second consecutive week. She also earned the award on Oct. 10. Larson helped the fourth-ranked Mustangs to a pair of NSIC home wins, including a 3-0 sweep over Upper Iowa on Friday and a 3-2 victory over No. 7 Winona State on Saturday. She finished the weekend with 112 assists, averaging 14 per set and also added 15 digs, four block assists and two kills. In the win over UIU, Larson recorded 45 assists with five digs and three block assists, while her passing helped SMSU hit a season-high .424 with just six hitting errors. In the victory over WSU, in which SMSU trailed two sets to one, she dished out a career-high 67 assists with 10 digs to record her fifth double-double of the season.

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 (10.79) and ranks fourth in total assists (3,670) and eighth in service attempts (1,425). Larson is on pace to post the second most assists per set (12.81) for a season in program history. Taylor Reiss is on pace to post the third most kills per set (4.88) for a single season in school history, ranks third all-time in career kills per set (4.28), and is fourth in career attack percentage (.327). Eisha Oden is ranked third in program history in career attack percentage(.334), eighth all-time in blocks per set (1.00), and has the second highest single season attack percentage in school history (.420). Sarah Parker is sixth in career attack percentage (.315) and eighth in both block assists (305) and total blocks (376).

SEEING DOUBLE: Taylor Reiss currently leads the Mustangs with 10 double-double performances. Kaylee Burmeister has racked up seven double-doubles while Megan Larson has produced six so far this year.

TOUGH COMPETITION: Southwest Minnesota State face 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 7-4 in matches against the nation's top 25.

STARTING STRONG: The Mustangs have gotten off to fast starts so far this season winning 19 of 24 opening sets thus far. SMSU has outscored its opponents by a combined 581-412 in the first set so far this year.

MUSTANGS CONFERENCE HISTORY UNDER TC: The Mustangs are 196-44 (.812) in Northern Sun Intercollegiate  Conference matches during Terry Culhane's tenure.

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 371-175 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 falling just three shy of the single-match record against Lewis (Ill.) on Sept. 3. 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.