MARSHALL, Minn.- No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State will look to rebound from its first home loss of the season as it hosts the University of Sioux Falls on Tuesday night in the program's annual Staff Appreciation Night in the PE Gym beginning at 6 p.m.


SMSU Quick Hits

- The Mustangs host a midweek NSIC contest on Holloween Night this Tuesday against Sioux Falls 

- SMSU dropped from the top spot in the AVCA Top-25 rankings this week after falling to No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul at home this past Saturday 

- SMSU tied the longest home win streak since 2004 with its 16th win in a row in the PE Gym last Friday against Minnesota State (locations not available before '04)

- Megan Larson became the program's all-time leader in assists and service attempts this year and is also the leader in career assists per set 

- Kaylee Burmeister and Taylor Reiss are responsible for 53 percent of the team's total kills and 38 percent of the Mustangs' total digs 

- Brooke Borchardt has career highs in kills and blocks in her final season as a Mustang 


Sioux Falls: Match Preview

    Series History

- SMSU has lost just one match to the University of Sioux Falls which came in five sets back in 2013 in Marshall

- The Mustangs have won the past eight matches since its only loss in the all-time series

- SMSU is 10-1 all-time in conference matches against USF

- The Mustangs are 6-1 all-time in the PE Gym agaisnt USF

- The last time: SMSU improved its record to 11-0 back on Sept. 19 with a 3-1 win on the road at USF

- The Mustangs won the first match over USF, 25-16, 21-25, 28-26, 25-16

- SMSU won the first match back in September despite committing 17 serving errors

- Taylor Reiss and Kaylee Burmeister combined for 39 kills and 27 digs in the first match

- Sarina Smith had seven block assists and one solo block in the first match back in September

- Megan Larson had 52 assists and 13 digs in the first match

    Sioux Falls Team Notes

- The Cougars were swept in two home matches last weekend by Concordia-St. Paul on Friday night and Minnesota State on Saturday afternoon, their first 0-2 weekend of the season

- The Cougars hit just .189 on the weekend and were limited to 11.33 kills per set

- Janelle Lam picked up 27 digs in two matches, averaging 4.50 digs per set

- Lam registered 10 and 17 digs in the two matches, extending her streak of double-digit digs to 20 straight matches

- Lexi Scott posted 14 total kills with a team-high .310 attack percentage

- Makenna Rockeman posted five service aces and had a team-high 23 kills in the two matches


NCAA Statistical Rankings

Highlights of the latest NCAA Statistical Rankings Update (10/30):

- The Mustangs are third in the nation in kills per set (15.11)

- SMSU is fifth in the country in assists per set (14.01) and ninth in hitting percentage (.286)

- Megan Larson is third in assists per set (12.3), Taylor Reiss is sixth in kills per set (4.7), and Brooke Borchardt is ninth in attack percentage (.409)


NSIC Statistical Rankings (Conf. matches)

Highlights of the latest NSIC Statistical Rankings Update (10/30) :

- SMSU sits alone in second in the NSIC standings after a loss to CSP broke the deadlock at the top of the standings

- SMSU is first in the NSIC in opponent hitting percentage (.159), third in kills (14.98 k/set) and second in team hitting percentage (.302)

- Taylor Reiss leads the conference in kills per set (4.83) and is first in points per set (5.28)

- Megan Larson is second in the conference in assists per set (12.30)

- Brooke Borchardt is second in the NSIC in hitting percentage (.401)


Doubling Down

- Taylor Reiss leads the team with 11 double-double performances including three 20-20 matches, seven matches with at least 20 kills, and six with at least 15 digs

- Kaylee Burmeister is second with 10 double-double performances including 16 kills and 12 digs at UIU

- Setter, Megan Larson, has nine double-double performances with double-digit digs and assists in those matches while also contributing at least five kills in four matches this season


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 (657/1,239) so far this season and 38 percent of the team's total digs (513/1,340)


To Be the Best; Beat the Best

- SMSU has started the year 9-2 against ranked opponents that includes a stretch of six straight matches against ranked opponents

- SMSU has a 4-1 record against AVCA Top-10 opponents this season

-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

- SMSU fell to No. 2 CSP on Oct. 28 in a 1 vs. 2 rematch


Home Sweet Home

- SMSU started the year 6-0 in home matches this season after posting a 10-1 home record in 2016 and tied the longest home win streak in school history at 16

- SMSU had its home winning streak snapped last weekend in a loss to No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul

- The Mustangs are 312-151 all-time in the PE Gym


Larson: Setting the Standard

- Megan Larson became the first SMSU player to surpass 5,000 career assists earlier this season becoming the all-time leader in career service attempts

- Larson has also moved into first in career assists and career assists per set during the 2017 season

- 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 tied her season high with 22 kills against CSP last weekend, ranks eighth all-time in career kills and ninth all-time in career attack percentage (.304)

- Reiss is currently averaging the fifth most kills per set (4.72) for a single season in school history after setting the mark for third most kills per set (4.89) last season

- Reiss is one of just three players in the top-10 in career kills with a career hitting percentage over .300


SMSU Hot Starts

- The Mustangs' have lost just four opening sets this year winning the other 19

- SMSU has outscored opponents 560-453 in opening sets this year

- The Mustangs have also won set two 18 times this year while outscoring opponents 559-440


Mustangs in the National Spotlight

- SMSU lost its No. 1 ranking after a 3-1 loss to Concordia-St. Paul last Saturday afternoon in the PE Gym but fall just one place to No. 2 in this week's poll

- SMSU has been ranked in the AVCA's Top-25 for 157 consecutive polls and has made it into the nation's Top-10 teams for 61 consecutive polls (dates back to Sept. 2006) 

- The Mustangs finished 2016 ranked 2nd in the final AVCA Top-25 Poll of the year and were ranked 2nd in this season's preseason poll
- SMSU has been ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in every poll so far this season