MARSHALL, Minn.- Top-ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball will head back on the road this weekend as they continue NSIC play at MSU Moorhead on Friday night at 6 p.m., followed by a match on Saturday at Northern State beginning at 2 p.m.
The Mustangs look to extend what is currently tied for the second longest win streak in program history at 15 straight victories and improve on what is already the best start to season in school history (the previous best start was 7-0 which SMSU accomplished twice).
SMSU Quick Hits
- Megan Larson was named this week's NSIC Setter of the Week, her second time winning the award this year
- Taylor Reiss, was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week, also her second time this year winning the award
- SMSU remains at No. 1 in the AVCA Top-25 poll for a fourth straight week
- The Mustangs' 15-0 start is the best start to season in school history
- SMSU's 15 consecutive wins to start the year is tied for the second longest win streak overall in program history
- Taylor Reiss moved into the top-10 in career kills in SMSU history last weekend
- SMSU has swept its last four opponents and dropped just one set in its last six matches
MSU Moorhead: Match Preview
Series History
- SMSU has won 16 straight matches overall over MSU Moorhead
- The Mustangs have won 18 out of the last 19 matches dating back to 2005 and 27 of 30 dating back to 2001
- SMSU holds a 45-25 all-time record against MSU Moorhead in conference matches
- The Mustangs are 20-18 all-time on the road in Moorhead, Minn.
- SMSU has swept two of the last four matches vs MSU Moorhead including the first match between the two schools last year
- MSU Moorhead won the first 11 all-time meetings with SMSU before the Mustangs' first win in the series in 1980
MSU Moorhead Team Notes
- Overall Record: 7-8
- Home Record: 1-3
- Current Streak: Lost 5
- Dragons went 0-2 with a pair of home NSIC losses
- MSUM lost to No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul in four sets last Friday
- The Dragons were up 2-1 on MSU Mankato before falling 15-10 in set five
- MSUM has two matches remaining on four-match homestand
- MSU Moorhead went 5-3 in non-conference play and won its first two NSIC matches before hitting its current five-match losing streak
- Sophomore middle blocker, Kaylyn Jenkins, had 24 kills and 14 blocks in two matches last week and averages 2.3 k/set
- Jenkins is the only player on the MSU Moorhead roster with a hitting percentage above .200 as her season attack percentage is .272
- Courtne Selbitschka is averaging 2.4 k/set on the season
Northern State: Match Preview
Series History
- The Mustangs have won 23 straight matches over Northern State dating back to 2003
- SMSU won the first 21 all-time meetings from 1978-93
- The Mustangs hold a 56-9 all-time record over the Wolves including a 51-7 record in conference matches
- SMSU is 20-5 all-time in matches played in Aberdeen, S.D.
- The Mustangs have won 29 of the last 32 all-time matchups with Northern State which dates back to 1998
Northern State Team Notes
- Overall Record: 13-2
- Home Record: 6-1
- Current Streak: Lost 1
- The Northern State volleyball team moved up five spots to No. 14 in the AVCA Top-25 Poll last week and are up one more spot to No. 13 this week
- The Wolves went 1-1, suffering their first conference loss to No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul last week
- NSU hit .203 in the two matches last weekend, with 71 kills, 70 assists, 112 digs, 12.5 blocks, and six service aces
- On the week, the Wolves out hit (.203-.176), out dug (112-97), and out blocked their opponents (12.5-10.0)
-Northern hit .304 against the Mavericks, and held them to a .067 attack percentage on defense
- Holly Vancura led the team with 19 kills last week, followed by Jenna Reiff with 18
- Reiff hit a team leading .361 through six sets. She also led the team with six blocks
- Ashley Rozell tallied 64 assists, averaging 10.6 per set last weekend
- Jaiden Langlie led the defense with 26 digs, averaging 4.33 per set last weekend
NSIC Player of the Week
- Megan Larson and Taylor Reiss were named NSIC Players of the Week for the second time this season for each
- Reiss averaged 4.83 kills per set last weekend and had eight block assists while Larson averaged 13.8 assists per set and helped SMSU to a .351 hitting percentage as a team
- SMSU's setter, Megan Larson, and outside hitter, Taylor Reiss, were named NSIC Setter of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week respectively after their performances in the Colorado Premier on Sept. 8-9
- SMSU volleyball players were recognized with NSIC Player/ Setter of the Week honors on five different occasions in 2016
- Larson and Reiss also recieved POW honors twice each in 2016
Sweeping Up the Competition
- Over the last four matches, SMSU has not dropped a single set and are averaging 16.2 kills per set while its opponents are avering just 9.7 k/set
- During the current stretch of four straight sweeps:
- Brooke Borchardt is averaging 3.92 k/set at a .597 clip
- Taylor Reiss has 55 total kills (4.58 k/set) at a .388 clip
- Kaylee Burmeister has averaged 3.3 k/set and 2.9 digs/set
- Erin Corrigan has averaged 2.3 digs/set
- SMSU has a .363 attack percentage while its opponents have hit just .130
- The Mustangs have averaged 14.8 assists per set over the streak to their opponents' 9.3 assists per set
Larson: Setting the Bar High
- The all-time career leader in assists, Megan Larson, is currently averaging the fourth mosts assists per set (12.6) for a single season in SMSU history
- Larson had the second most assists (1,517) and assists per set (12.86) for a single season in program history in 2016
Reiss: Attacking the Record Books
- Taylor Reiss moved into 10th place all-time in career assists last weekend
- Reiss is currently averaging the sixth most kills per set (4.62) for a single season in school history after setting the mark for third most kills per set (4.89) last season
Mustangs Quick out of the Gates
- SMSU is off to its best start in school history after winning its first 15 matches of the year
- SMSU's previous best start to a season was 7-0 which it accomplished in both 2010 and 2012
- The Mustangs are already 8-0 over ranked opponents and have won in straight sets in four of those wins
- The Mustangs' longest win streak last season was 14 straight matches from Sept. 17 to Oct. 28
- The Mustangs' 15-match win streak is tied for the second longest win streak overall in program history
Home Sweet Home
- SMSU will be back on the road after beginning the season with a stretch of 12 of 13 matches in road/ neutral sites
- SMSU went a perfect 12-0 in road/ neutral matches so far including a perfect 5-0 in true road matches and a 5-0 start in road NSIC contests
- The Mustangs held opponents to a .151 attack percentage and just 10.3 kills per set in road matches during the month of September
Block Party
- With the Mustangs' season high 13 total blocks as a team at Sioux Falls, SMSU has 10 plus blocks in six matches this season, one more than its season total in 2016
- SMSU had 11 matches in 2015 with double digit blocks as a team and 14 such matches back in 2014
- Sarina Smith reached eight total blocks in the Mustangs' win over Sioux Falls and became the second SMSU player to reach eight plus blocks in a match this year (Brooke Borchardt had eight blocks vs. North Alabama)
To Be the Best; Beat the Best
- SMSU has started the year 8-0 against ranked opponents including a stretch of six straight matches against ranked opponents
- SMSU has started the year with a 4-0 record against AVCA Top-10 opponents
-The Mustangs had wins over three of the eight NCAA Region Champions during the 2016 season (Concordia-St. Paul, Palm Beach Atl., Angelo State)
- SMSU defeated defending National Champions and then No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul in the Colo. Premier Championship
- The Mustangs will face No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul again on Oct. 28 in Marshall
NCAA Statistical Rankings
Highlights of the latest NCAA Statistical Rankings Update (10/2):
- SMSU was one of just 6 remaining unbeaten teams in Division II
- The Mustangs are second in the nation in kills per set (15.36)
- SMSU is sixth in the country in assists per set (14.17) and sixth in hitting percentage (.282)
- Megan Larson is third in assists per set (12.6), Taylor Reiss is sixth in kills per set (4.6), and Brooke Borchardt is fourth in attack percentage (.448)
NSIC Statistical Rankings (Conf. matches only)
Highlights of the latest NSIC Statistical Rankings Update (10/3) :
- SMSU and Concordia-St. Paul are the only teams without a loss in conference play so far this season
- SMSU is ranked third in the NSIC in attack pct (.311) and second in opponent hitting percentage (.149)
- Taylor Reiss leads the conference in kills per set (4.75)
- Megan Larson is second in the conference in assists per set (12.88)
- Brooke Borchardt leads the conference in hitting percentage (.480)
One-Two Punch
- Mustangs' junior outside hitters, Taylor Reiss and Kaylee Burmeister, are a huge part of SMSU's strong start after both playing major roles in last season's Region Championship run
- Reiss and Burmeister have combined for 53 percent of the Mustangs' total kills (428/814) so far this season and 39 percent of the team's total digs (339/860)
- Burmeister and Reiss combined for 31 kills and 10 digs in the Mustangs' win over No. 6 Minnesota Duluth last weekend
