FAYETTE, Iowa - The Southwest Minnesota State women's volleyball team ends the regular season on the road at Upper Iowa on Friday for a 6 p.m. match and on Saturday at Winona for a 2 p.m. match, both meetings are the second match-up this season.
SMSU (19-7, 14-4 NSIC) defeated Upper Iowa (17-9, 10-8 NSIC) in four-sets on Sept. 15 at home and fell to Winona State (13-13, 10-8 NSIC) on Sept. 14 in the only conference sweep Mustangs suffered this season.
SMSU Notes
The Mustangs moved up to the No. 9 spot, in the latest AVCA Top-25 poll announced on Monday, from previously ranking at No. 12 last week. SMSU dropped to the seventh spot in the latest NCAA DII Central Region rankings after going 2-0 this weekend. For the second consecutive weekend, the Mustangs knocked off the top-ranked team to also maintain a six-match winning streak. On Friday night, the Mustangs took down then ranked No. 1, Concordia-St. Paul (18-25,25-19,25-15,25-18) and swept Minnesota State (25-6,25-18,25-13) on Saturday afternoon.
Taylor Reiss earned NSIC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, announced on Monday for the third consecutive week, fourth time this season, and her tenth overall recognition. She was also named All-NSIC first team and NSIC Player of the Year announced on Thursday afternoon. Reiss became the first player in conference history to earn Player of the Year three times. Reiss has earned All-NSIC first team all four-years during her tenure as a Mustang. This season Reiss became the second player in school history to earn 2,000 careers, which she surpassed last weekend totaling 2,039 career kills. Reiss leads the team in kills (557), kills per set (5.93), total attacks (1,337), hitting percentage (.329), and points (624.5). Reiss is the conference and national leader in kills per set (5.93), points per set (6.64), and total kills (557), and in addition, is the conference leader in attacks per set (14.22), and total attacks (1,337).
Reiss ranks second in kills (2,039) in the all-time career rankings. She is also second in kills per set (4.95), points (2,311.5), third in attack attempts (4,954), third in points per set (5.61), sixth in attack percentage (.315), and seventh in service attempts (1,527).
Kaylee Burmeister and
Sarina Smith also earned All-NSIC second team honors as Burmeister leads the team in digs with 469 and Smith leads the team in blocks with eight solo and 50 block assists.
Upper Iowa Notes
UIU broke a three-match losing streak on last Saturday with a five-set loss to Wayne State. Anna Winter leads the Peacocks in kills with 331 and 3.85 kills per set. Malissa LeClaire has recorded 918 assists this season with a 10.67 assists per set average. She also leads in service aces with 36. Haley Weepie, past recipient of the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week award, paces the defense with 389 digs. Gabby Holmes, also received NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, comes in second with 283 digs and 3.29 digs per set.
UIU Series History
SMSU is undefeated going 24-0 in a series which began on Sept. 10, 2004. The teams' met this season on Sept. 15 in Marshall in a 3-1 Mustangs victory. Of the past 24 matches, the Mustangs have swept in 16 of them. The past three matches were four-set victories for the Mustangs.
Winona State Notes
Megan Flom leads the Warriors with 242 kills, followed closely by Cori Meyers (199), Taylor Goar (192), Madison Rizner (142), and Paige Christopher (129). Bre Maloney serves as the primary setter with 950 assists recorded. Becca Pagel, reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Week leads the Warriors with 383 digs.
WSU Series History
SMSU leads 65-31-1 in the series dating back to 1974. Saturdays' meeting is the second time the teams' have met this season. The match on Sept. 14 was one of the two home losses for the Mustangs and the last time the Mustangs were swept this season. The Mustangs maintained a 17-match winning streak from 1999 and ended on Nov. 2, 2007, with a five-set loss in Winona.
