MARSHALL, Minn.- The second ranked Southwest Minnesota State University women's volleyball team will open it's 2017 campaign this weekend as the Mustangs travel to Pensacola, Fla., to compete in four matches as a part of the Hampton-Innvitational hosted by the University of West Florida.
On day one, the Mustangs will play North Alabama in their season opener on Friday at 9 a.m., followed by an afternoon match against No. 11 Wheeling Jesuit at 2 p.m.
SMSU will then play Southern Indiana and reigning Gulf South Conference Champions, West Florida on Saturday to conclude the nonconference invitational.
SMSU Quick Hits
- SMSU was ranked 2nd in the first AVCA poll of the year
- Taylor Reiss was voted the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year
- SMSU was picked to finish 2nd in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll
- SMSU Volleyball was recognized in July with the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2016-17 season
-Head Coach Terry Culahne was named NSIC Coach of the Year in 2016 and owns an all-time record of 340-93 (.785)
- SMSU finished 2016 as Co-NSIC Champions with an 18-2 record in conference matches- The Mustangs have three players returning that were named All-NSIC in 2016: Megan Larson, Taylor Reiss, and Kaylee Burmeister
North Alabama: Match Preview (Sept. 1, 9 a.m.)
Series History
- North Alabama won the only ever meeting between the two schools back in 2000 in the North Alabama Classic by the score of 3-0
North Alabama Team Notes
- UNA was selected as the preseason favorties to win the Gulf South Conference (GSC)
- UNA returns 11 letterwinners and four starters from last season
- UNA had a GSC high three players make the preseason All-Confonference team
- UNA has won the 2016 GSC conference tournament
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Wheeling Jesuit: Match Preview (Sept. 1, 2 p.m.)
Series History
- SMSU lost the only ever meeting between the two schools in September of 2014
- SMSU was defeated by #17 Wheeling Jesuit in five sets, 3-2 in the Concordia-St. Paul Tournament
Wheeling Jesuit Team Notes
- Wheeling Jesuit was selected for a fifth straight season as the preseason favorties to win the Mountain East Conference (MEC)
- Wheeling Jesuit set a school record with 41 wins in 2016
- The Cardinals return last seasons MEC Freshman of the Year, Bre Kramer
Southern Indiana: Match Preview (Sept. 2, 9 a.m.)
Series History
- SMSU won the only meeting between the two schools in Rolla, Mo., back in 2012
- In the win, the Mustangs swept the Screaming Eagles 25-19, 25-19, 25-20
Southern Indiana Team Notes
- USI was picked to finish fifth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference's (GLVC) East Division
- Southern Indiana finished 2016 on a 10-match losing streak
- Senior libero Shannon Farrell returns after becoming the first player in program history to record back-to-back 500-dig seasons
West Florida: Match Preview (Sept. 2, 3:30 p.m.)
Series History
- SMSU leads the series 4-1 dating back to the first meeting in 2009
- SMSU has won the last four matches after UWF swept SMSU in the 2009 Colorado Premier Challenge
- Three of the four matches have taken place in the Colorado Premier Challenge (SMSU leads 3-1) that includes a 3-0 win for SMSU in 2016
West Florida Team Notes
- UWF has won the last two regular season Gulf South Conference titles and was picked to finish second in this year's preseason poll
- UWF has qualified for 11 consecutive NCAA Region Tournaments
- West Florida had one preseason all-conference selection on a team that returns six letterwinners and three redshirts
Larson: Setting the Bar High
- Megan Larson enters her season in 2017 as one of the best setters already in school history
- Larson had the second most assists (1,517) and assists per set (12.86) for a single season in program history in 2016
Career Assists per set (minimum 150 sets)
1. 11.21 - Sara Graf (388 sets) - 2006-09
2. 10.99 - Megan Larson (374 sets) - 2014-Pres.
3. 9.85 - Cara Carson (358 sets) - 2008-11
Career Total Assists
1. 4348 - Sara Graf (388 sets) - 2006-09
2. 4245 - Sarah Rittenhouse (439 sets) - 2000-03
3. 4111- Megan Larson (374 sets) - 2014-Pres
Reiss: Attacking the Record Books
- Taylor Reiss had 35 kills vs. Lewis (Ill.) last season, breaking the program record for kills in a four-set match
- Reiss finished 2016 with the third most points per set (5.08) and kills per set (4.39) for a single season in program history
- Reiss is also closing in on 1,000 career kills as she currently sits at 877 through her first two seasons
Career Kills per set (minimum 150 sets)
1. 5.16 - Erin Contons (483 sets) - 2004-07
2. 4.54 - Pam Tomasek (157 sets) - 1981-84
3. 4.39 - Taylor Reiss (200 sets) - 2015-17
Career Attack pct. (minimum 500 kills)
5. .316 - Sarah Parker (1098-310-2497) - 2013-16
6. .314 - Devin Diedrich (1652-430-3887) - 2008-12
7. .314 - Taylor Reiss (877-217-2104) - 2015-17
Mustang Season Openers
- SMSU has won 13 of its last 14 season opening matches overall
- The Mustangs defeated Michigan Tech, 3-1 in last season's opening match in Romeoville, Ill., as a part of the Lewis University 'Flyer Festival'
- SMSU is 41-10 (.804) overall on season opening weekends since Head Coach Terry Culhane took over in 2004
- The Mustangs opened the 2015 season in Pensacola, Fla., as well going 4-0 in UWF's Tournament to begin that year
UWF Hampton-Innvitational
- The University of West Florida hosts a number of competitive teams in its annual season opening weekend invitational on Sept. 1-2
- The list of teams traveling to Pensacola this weekend includes two NCAA Elite Eight Qualifiers from a season ago: USC-Aiken and Wheeling Jesuit
- North Alabama, Southern Indiana and SMSU make up three additional teams in the field who advanced to their respective 2016 NCAA Regional Tournaments
- The Mustangs opened the 2015 season in Pensacola, Fla., as well going 4-0 in UWF's Tournament to begin that year
- Four of the five teams at this year's UWF Invitational won conference championships in 2016, either regular season or tournament
To Be the Best; Beat the Best
- Three of the Mustangs' four week one opponents were either ranked or recieved votes in the AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll
- The Mustangs face another year of stiff competition as the AVCA Preseason Poll features five total NSIC schools in the nation's Top-10
- Nine of the Mustangs' scheduled opponents for 2017 were ranked in the first AVCA poll of the year
-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 went 11-6 in 17 total matches against nationally ranked opponents in 2016
- SMSU will host top-ranked and defending National Champions, Concordia-St. Paul on Sat., Oct. 28, at 2 p.m., after four total meetings with the Golden Bears last season
NSIC Preseason Player of the Year
- In addition to being named SMSU's "Player to Watch" in this year's conference preview, Taylor Reiss was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's Preseason Player of the Year
- Reiss has been recognized by the NSIC as Freshman of the Year (2015) and Offensive Player of the Year (2016) while earning First-Team All-NSIC honors in both of her first two seasons
Defending Conference Champions
- The Mustangs' share of the regular season NSIC Championship in 2016 marked the fourth conference title in program history
- SMSU went 18-2 against NSIC opponents in 2016 finishing atop the conference in several offensive categories
