MARSHALL, Minn. – The fourth ranked Southwest Minnesota State women's volleyball will return to Marshall this week as it hosts its annual Alumni/Homecoming Weekend. The Mustangs will take on the No. 11 Northern State Wolves (11-2, 4-1 NSIC) at 7 p.m. on Friday night followed by a meeting with MSU Moorhead on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. SMSU has won four straight matches including a home win over Sioux Falls last Tuesday and two road wins last weekend over the University of Mary and Minot State. The Mustangs held opponents to a .090 hitting percentage last week, had 145 kills and had 25 total blocks.

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE: 
Northern State- No. 11 Northern State goes into the week with an 11-2 overall record and a 4-1 record in NSIC matches. The Wolves have dropped just two sets in their four NSIC victories including a 3-1 defeat of No. 4 Wayne State this past Saturday. The Wolves are currently the 10th ranked team in the country in hitting percentage (.264) and tenth in assists per set (13.28). NSU freshman setter, Ashley Rozell, is first in the country in assists per set (12.62) and third in total assists (593).

MSU Moorhead- MSU Moorhead enters the week at 6-7 with a 1-4 conference record after a tough four match losing streak. The Dragons have faced three consecutive ranked opponents; No. 11 Northern State, No. 4 Wayne State, and No. 14 Augustana. NSU has failed to win a single set in those matches. Carly Masloski currently leads the Dragons' attack with 154 total kills and 3.21 k/set while setter, Makayla Wenzel has 482 assists at a 10.04 a/set clip. Monica Vega leads the Dragons 272 digs while Sarah Hagler is team's leading blocker with 48 total blocks on the season.

SERIES HISTORY:
Northern State- SMSU currently owns a commanding 54-9 lead in the all-time series with Northern State in a matchup that dates back to the 1978 season. SMSU has won the last 21 meetings and has only lost three sets in the previous eight matches combined. SMSU has only lost twice at home to Northern State, holding a 22-2 record in games played in Marshall and have not dropped a home match since the 2002 season. The Mustangs are 49-7 against the Wolves in conference matches dating back to the 1985 season.

MSU Moorhead- The Mustangs lead the all-time series with MSU Moorhead 59-46 after winning the previous 14 matches and 16 of the last 17. 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 are 40-25 against MSU Moorhead in conference matches. SMSU is 22-17 in home matches, 19-18 on the road, and 18-11 at neutral sites.

MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS: As of this past Monday, the Mustangs are the second best team in the country in kills per set (14.8), third in hitting percentage (.320), and third in assists per set (13.83). Megan Larson was the third ranked player in the country in assists per set (12.30) and ninth in total assists (566). Taylor Reiss was second in the country in kills per set (5.13), fourth in total kills (236), and 11th in attacks per set (12.39). Eisha Oden came in as the sixth best player in the nation in hitting percentage (.428).

NATIONAL NEWS: SMSU is currently ranked fourth in the most recent AVCA poll released last Monday. The Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top-25 for 138 consecutive polls dating back to Sept. 5, 2006, and have been ranked in the Top-10 for 42 consecutive polls.

NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Taylor Reiss received her second NSIC Offensive Player of the Week recognition after racking up 52 kills while hitting .381, 32 digs, seven blocks, and four service aces in the Mustangs' three wins last week. She also led the NSIC in kills per set (5.2) for the week. Reiss became the first SMSU player of the year to earn Player of the Week after she was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 29-Sept. 4 when she recorded 85 kills while hitting .343, 33 digs, and eight blocks. This marks the second career Offensive Player of the Week for Reiss after she earned the conference's Defensive Player of the Week recognition twice in 2015.

All-TIME MUSTANGS: SMSU currently has three players climbing the all-time ranks of various statistical categories. Megan Larson is second all-time in assists per set (10.46) and now ranks sixth in total assists (3,160). Taylor Reiss is currently third all-time in attack percentage (.338). Eisha Oden is ranked fifth in program history in career attack percentage (.321) and eighth all-time in blocks per set (1.03) while  Sarah Parker is ninth in career attack percentage (.304).

MISS 3000: Megan Larson surpassed the 3,000 career assist milestone on Sept. 17 versus Wayne State making her the seventh setter in program history to reach that mark. Larson moved up to sixth all time last weekend in total assists (3160) and is now just 19 assists shy of moving into the top five.

CONFERENCE LEADERS (NSIC Matches): Through its first five NSIC matches, SMSU has the second best team hitting percentage (.347) and third most kills per set (14.56) as a team. The Mustangs have the fourth most assists per set (13.67) in the NSIC and are the fourth best team in blocks per set (2.39). Taylor Reiss is currently second in the conference in kills per set (5.28) while Megan Larson is third in assists per set (12.28) and Eisha Oden is second in hitting percentage (.520).

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 4-3 in matches against the nation's top 25 including a 3-0 victory over second ranked Wayne State on Sept. 17.

STARTING STRONG: The Mustangs have gotten off to fast starts so far this season winning eleven out of thirteen opening sets thus far. SMSU has outscored its opponents by a combined 314-215 in the first set through 13 matches this year.

SEEING DOUBLE: Taylor Reiss currently leads the Mustangs with double-double performances including two last week versus USF and U-Mary. Megan Larson has achieved three double doubles while Kaylee Burmeister has two on the season.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since Terry Culhane took over as head coach at SMSU in 2004, the Mustangs have compiled a 112-26 record at the PE Gym and concluded the 2015 regular season with a 9-2 record at home. The Mustangs have won at least seven home matches since the start of the 2003 season and are 1-1 so far this year.

MUSTANGS CONFERENCE HISTORY: Since coach Terry Culhane took over the SMSU volleyball program, the Mustangs are a combined 186-43 (.812) in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches. Since conference schedules increased to 20 matches in 2008, SMSU is 137-28 (.830) 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 360-173 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 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.

MUSTANGS LEAVE MARK ON MILE HIGH CITY: SMSU traveled to Denver for the Colorado Premier Challenge for the eighth time since the tournament's inception and for the fourth consecutive season. The Mustangs are now 23-9 all-time in the Colorado Premier after making it to the championship match for the third time ever.  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 recieve All-Tournament selections in their history at the Colorado Premier.