MARSHALL, Minn.- The fourth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State women's volleyball team (22-4, 16-2 NSIC) will wrap up its 2016 regular season schedule this weekend looking to clinch at least a share of first place atop the NSIC standings with two more wins this weekend. The Mustangs will first honor their 2016 senior class on Senior Night this Friday against U-Mary (9-18, 4-14 NSIC) at 7 p.m., followed by a match against Minot State (5-22, 0-18 NSIC) for Parents Day on Saturday at 4 p.m. SMSU has won two straight matches and is looking for to improve on a seven match home winning streak.

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE: 
University of Mary - The Marauders come into the week having dropped six straight matches with just four wins against NSIC opponents on the season. They will enter the match against SMSU hitting just .191 as a unit and have committed 241 total service errors on the season. Lauren Randall is one of the team's best hitters ranking sixth in all of Division II in kills per set (4.54), seventh in the country in attacks per set (12.58), and also leads the team with 40 service aces. Thayna Silva is second on the team with 3.16 kills per set while Alex Brown is the team leader in digs with 312 (3.59 digs/set).

Minot State -  The Beavers have struggled to gain any momentum since their last match against SMSU having lost 16 straight matches overall and have gone 0-18 this year against NSIC opponents. Minot State is in the midst of a 38 match losing streak to NSIC opponents dating back to November 8, 2014 (3-1 W vs WSU). Cindy Pelo is eighth in the NSIC in digs per set (4.28) and seventh in total digs (377). Hayley Swain leads MSU in hitting percentage (.214) while Shelby Spuller leads the team with 207 kills (2.33 k/set).

SERIES HISTORY:
University of Mary- Southwest Minnesota State has never lost to the University of Mary leading the all-time series 16-0. The Mustangs have only dropped two sets in all matches against U-Mary and have never lost a set at home. SMSU won the first match 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-11, 25-17) earlier this season on the road in Bismarck, N.D.

Minot State- The Mustangs have never dropped a set to the Beavers since the series began in 2012 and lead the series 6-0. SMSU is 3-0 in home matches versus MSU and 3-0 in matches played in Minot. The Mustangs swept Minot State back on September 24 winning 25-10, 25-20, 25-14 on the road in Minot, S.D.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since Terry Culhane took over as head coach at SMSU in 2004, the Mustangs have compiled a 118-26 record at the PE Gym. The Mustangs have won at least seven home matches since the start of the 2003 season and are 7-1 so far this year and are in the midst of a seven match home winning streak.

SMSU LEADERS: Taylor Reiss currently leads the Mustangs in kills with 447 (4.91 k/set). Eisha Oden is the team leader in hitting percentage (.407). Sarah Parker is the Mustangs' leader in blocks with 86 (.95 blk/set) while Oden is a close second with 82 (.91 blk/set). Amber Messner leads Southwest Minnesota State in digs (404), Kaylee Burmeister has the most service aces (31), and setter, Megan Larson, has tallied 1,166 assists (12.81 a/set).

NATIONAL NEWS: SMSU is currently ranked fourth in the most recent AVCA poll released this Monday with one first place vote. The Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top-25 for 144 consecutive polls dating back to Sept. 5, 2006, and have been ranked in the Top-10 for 48 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 Nov. 2, the Mustangs were 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 was first in the country in assists per set (12.81) and seventh in total assists (1,076). Taylor Reiss was third in the country in kills per set (4.88), 11th in total kills (410) and 12th 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 (15.17 k/set), assists (14.33 a/set), hitting percentage (.317), second in service aces (1.60 per set), and second in opponent hitting percentage (.155). SMSU is also third in blocks (2.22 blk/set). Eisha Oden (.416) and Sarah Parker (.405) are second and fourth respectively in hitting percentage while Megan Larson is first in assists (13.03 a/set). Taylor Reiss is first in kills (4.86 k/set) while Amber Messner is eighth in digs (4.35 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 (10.84) and ranks fourth in total assists (3,760) and sixth in service attempts (1,460). 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 (4.91) for a single season in school history, ranks third all-time in career kills per set (4.32), and is fifth in career attack percentage (.322). Eisha Oden is ranked third in program history in career attack percentage(.332), eighth all-time in blocks per set (1.01), and has the second highest single season attack percentage in school history (.407). Sarah Parker is sixth in career attack percentage (.314) and eighth in both block assists (307) and tied for seventh in total blocks (380). Parker currently has the third highest single season attack percentage (.387).

SEEING DOUBLE: Taylor Reiss currently leads the Mustangs with 11 double-double performances. Kaylee Burmeister has racked up nine double-doubles while Megan Larson has produced eight so far this year.

STARTING STRONG: The Mustangs have gotten off to fast starts so far this season winning 21 of 26 opening sets thus far. SMSU has outscored its opponents by a combined 631-447 in first sets 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 now 8-4 in matches against the nation's top 25 this season.

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.

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 37-175 all-time in conference matches since their first season of volleyball in 1971.