MARSHALL, Minn. - •The No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (13-8, 7-6 NSIC) prepares for a split weekend, traveling to Sioux Falls (14-7, 6-7 NSIC) on Thursday at 6 p.m. before hosting Augustana (14-8, 7-6 NSIC) on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the PE Gym. 
•SMSU notches the No. 15 spot in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll released on Monday. SMSU is one of eight NSIC schools featured in this weeks poll. 
•SMSU went 0-2 last weekend, which began with a four-set loss to, then-ranked, No. 13 St. Cloud State on Friday and a five-set loss to No. 3 Minnesota Duluth on Saturday afternoon. 
•There are seven regular season matches left before the conference tournament which will start on Nov. 22., at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Head Coach Terry Culhane
•Terry Culhane enters his 16th season as head coach in 2019.
•He is decorated as the program's all-time winningest head coach. 
•His overall record in the 2019 season is 405-114 and 240-57 in the conference. His home record is 139-32.

Mustang Leaders
•Junior Angela Young leads the team offensively with 330 kills and a 4.18 kills per set average.
•Emma Thomssen leads in assists with 587 and Alisa Bengen is right behind with 382.
•Payton Hjerleid leads the team defensively with 318 digs and 4.03 digs per set.
•Hjerleid also leads in service aces with 26.
•Zoe Lier leads in blocks with 64 including  48 block assist and 16 block solos. 
•SMSU has a 15.00 kills per set average and a .252 hitting percentage.

What You Need to Know
•SMSU notches the No. 15 spot in the latest AVCA poll released on Monday, Oct. 28. This marks the 184th poll that SMSU has been featured in the Top-25. 
•SMSU is one of eight NSIC schools ranked in this week's Top 25 with Minnesota Duluth leading the way at No. 3. Followed by Concordia-St. Paul at No. 6, Northern State at No. 7, St. Cloud State at No. 11, Wayne State at No. 12, SMSU at No. 15, Winona State at No. 16, and Upper Iowa at No. 22. 
•With only seven games left of the regular season, this weekend's matches are crucial for the Mustangs as Sioux Falls is one-conference game behind SMSU and Augustana, SMSU, and Upper Iowa are all tied in conference wins. 
•The conference tournament includes the top-eight teams; UIU, SMSU, and Augie are all tied at eighth. 
•SMSU has lost all matches to ranked opponents, besides one match. 

Sioux Falls: Match Preview
2019 Record: 14-7, 6-7 NSIC
Head Coach: Joel McCartney, eighth season
Mascot: Cougars
Series History
•SMSU holds a 15-2 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 1981. 
•SMSU has won 10 of the last 11 matches, with the last meeting a loss in five sets in Sioux Falls on Oct. 9, 2018. 

Sioux Falls Notes
•Head Coach, Joel McCartney,  in his eighth season has a 146-123 overall record at USF and is 74-79 in conference play.
•The Cougars record 13.50 kills per set with a .236 hitting percentage.
•KaSandra Springer leads the team with 251 kills and 3.98 kills per set. 
•The Cougars run their offense through Krista Goerger who has 719 assists on the season with 10.27 assists per set. Goerger set the record for most assists in career history as she now has 2,140.
•On the defensive end, Allie Maloney, leads the way with 266 digs and 4.16 digs per set. 
•At the net, Kenzie Byers, is the Cougars biggest threat with 56 blocks on the season, 11 solo and 45 assists. 
•USF started the season off ranked in the AVCA Top-25 poll. 

Augustana: Match Preview
2019 Record: 14-8, 7-6 NSIC
Head Coach: Jennifer Jacobs, third season
Mascot: Vikings
Series History
•SMSU holds a 33-31-1 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 1972. 
•Augie went on a 25-game winning streak from 1987 to Sept, 27, 2015, when SMSU swept in Sioux Falls. 
•SMSU went on a winning streak of their own with a 15-match winning streak following. 
•SMSU has won six of the last seven matches including a sweep on Sept. 6, 2018, in Marshall. 
Augustana Notes
•Head Coach, Jennifer Jacobs, in her third season has a 47-35 overall record with record in the NSIC.
•Maddy Guetter leads the team with 216 kills and 2.96 kills per set. 
•Four other teammates all have significant number of kills with Grace Haberland following with 182, Izzy Sommers with 167, and Payton Rosendahl with 154.
•The Vikings offense is run through Avery Thorson with 792 assists. 
•Erika Bute leads the defense with 438 digs and 5.54 digs per set. 

Up Next: The Mustangs host Wayne State on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. in the PE Gym before heading on a weekend road series at Northern State and MSU Moorhead.