MARSHALL, Minn. - The No. 10 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team hosts No. 5 Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State this weekend for two homecoming match-ups in the PE Gym.

On Friday, SMSU (12-5, 7-2 NSIC) takes on UMD (15-3, 8-1 NSIC) at 6 p.m. and the 2 p.m. match on Saturday against St. Cloud State (10-5, 6-3 NSIC) is presented by State Farm Insurance.

SMSU Notes
SMSU returns home after going 3-1 in a four-match road series. Prior to SMSU's perfect weekend this past week, the Mustangs defeated Minnesota State on Sept. 21 and fell in five-sets to Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 22. This past weekend, the Mustangs returned 2-0, sweeping Minnesota Crookston last Friday, Sept. 28 and Bemidji State on Saturday, Sept. 29. Taylor Reiss, former NSIC Offensive Player of the Week and former AVCA Player of the Week, led in the sweep of Minnesota Crookston with 23 kills and a .321 hitting percentage. Angela Young and Meg Schmidt recorded nine kills with a .421 hitting percentage and 10 kills with a .444 hitting percentage respectively. Emma Thomssen accounted for 42 assists and 13 digs, while Kaylee Burmeister led the defense with 18 digs. 

In the victory against Bemidji State, Reiss and Sarina Smith tied for a team-high 14 kills. Reiss ended the match with a .591 hitting percentage and 17 digs, her 12^thdouble-double on the season. 
 
Opponent at a glance 
Minnesota Duluth – Minnesota Duluth is ranked No. 5 and maintains a 15-3 overall and 8-1 in NSIC play. Mackenzie Morgan leads the Bulldogs in kills with 192, followed by Hanna Meyer (173), Kate Berg (140), Abby Thor (128), and Sarah Kelly (113). Emily Torve has recorded 729 assists this season and has earned NSIC Setter of the Week of the second time, announced on Oct. 1. The Bulldog defense is led by Kenna Seiffer, who has dished out 255 digs. Thor also received NSIC Offensive Player of the Week while recording 24 kills on 35 swings. UMD defeated No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul on Wednesday night (26-24, 25-23, 25-21) in a non-conference match-up.
 
UMD Series History 
UMD leads the series 66-18, dating back to 1973. The Mustangs fell behind winning only seven of the first 55 matches. However, in the last 14 seasons under the coaching of Terry Culhane, the Mustangs have won 11 of the last 18 matches. Mustangs are 10-23 in their home record. Mustangs fell 3-0 in the last meeting in Marshall on Dec. 1, 2017, in the NCAA Regional Tournament.
 
Opponent at a glance 
St. Cloud - Linsey Rachel leads the Huskies' offense with 208 kills. Maddy Torve has recorded 524 assists. Clara Krenz has 266 digs and earned NSIC Defensive Player of the Week after recording 38 digs and 6.33 digs per set in last week's matches against (RV) Wayne State and Augustana. Marah Mulso leads the team in blocks with 39.0. SCSU defeated Augustana 3-0 in its last match on Saturday. Rachel led with 18 digs, Torve recorded 34 assists, and Krenz led with 21 digs
 
SCSU Series History
SMSU leads the series 26-18 and maintains a 14-6 record in NSIC matches.  SCSU opened the series in 1972 with 16 consecutive losses. The Mustangs have won 19 consecutive matches and 25 of the past 26. The last match took place on Nov. 4, 2017, at SCSU with a 3-1 Mustang victory.
 
No. 10 Southwest Minnesota State (12-5, 7-2 NSIC) go on the road on Tuesday, Oct. 9, to face Sioux falls at 6 p.m. SMSU continued road-play this weekend with a 6 p.m. match on Friday, Oct. 12 at Minot State and Saturday. Oct. 13 at UMary at 11 a.m.