THIS WEEK

The No. 10 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (15-2 overall, 7-2 NSIC) hits the road this weekend, traveling to face Winona State and Upper Iowa.

The Mustangs will face Winona State on Friday at 6 p.m. before going to Upper Iowa for a match on Saturday at 5 p.m.

    LAST WEEK  

The Mustangs celebrated homecoming with a pair of statement victories over Minot State and UMary  

SMSU came out with a convincing 3-0 sweep over Minot State 25-6, 25-20 and 25-18.

Angela Young led the way with 11 kills and hit .286, while Halle Jansen smacked a career-high eight kills and hit .312. Brooklyn Kusler also added a career-high with seven kills and finished the match hitting .385. Meg Schmidt blasted nine kills and also dished out 21 assists, while Sophie Johnson also shared time at setter and closed with 15 assists. Payton Hjerleid finished with a match-high 17 digs.

Young would finish the game with 14 kills and hit at a .444 clip while becoming the 15th player in SMSU history to reach the 1,000-kill milestone. Schmidt stuffed the stat sheet with 15 kills, 13 digs, 11 assists, and four aces while hitting at .423. Hjerleid would lead the way defensively with 15 digs, while Emma VanHeel would collect four blocked shots to go along with three kills.

    SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS  

After a pair of home sweeps against Minot State and UMary, the Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team (15-2) moved up one spot to No. 10 in the sixth regular season American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Division II weekly poll released on Monday afternoon.

SMSU is one of five NSIC schools ranked in this week's Top 25 with Wayne State moving up to No. 5, Concordia-St. Paul falling three spots to No. 7, Winona State jumping a spot to No. 8, and St. Cloud State up two spots to No. 14. Minnesota Duluth, previously at No. 22, fell off the rankings, receiving the most votes of teams not ranked in the Top 25. 

    SERIES HISTORY

Winona State and SMSU will meet for the 101st time, with SMSU leading the series 67-32-1.

The first meeting took place in 1974, while their last meeting took place in October of 2019, when SMSU fell to WSU in three sets.

Upper Iowa and SMSU will meet for the 27th time, with SMSU leading the series 26-0

The first meeting was in 2004 and the last meeting occurred on Oct. 4, 2019, with the Mustangs winning in three sets. 

    FABULOUS FRESHMEN   

SMSU has received a boost from its youth in the first 18 games this season, with nine different freshmen seeing action, and six playing in at least ten sets.

The group is led by Emma VanHeel, who is third on the team with 140 kills, and is second on the team with 61 blocks, and Katelyn Nichols, who leads the team with 64 blocks, and is fourth on the team with 90 kills. Both VanHeel and Nichols have played in every set this season. 

Sophie Johnson has played in 55 of 58 sets for the Mustangs, picking up 87 digs and 44 assists in twelve starts. Johnson averaged 17 assists per match over the weekend. 

Halle Jansen has played in all 17 games for SMSU, collecting 37 kills, 31 digs and 11 blocks. She tallied a career-high eight kills on Oct. 8 against Minot State. 

Saari Kuehl has played in 13 games and 23 sets for SMSU, with 24 kills and 12 digs.

Brooklyn Kusler put up a career-high seven kills while hitting .385 against Minot State on Oct. 8. 

    MUSTANG MILESTONES

Payton Hjerleid became the 21st player in school history join the 1,000 dig club on Oct. 2 against Northern State.

Hjerleid also tied the school record for aces in a match, when she recorded eight in a sweep of Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 4

Angela Young became the 15th player in Mustangs history to join the 1,000 kills club after her first kill on Oct. 9 against UMary.

Young currently ranks 11th in school history with 3.26 kills per set in her career. 

Meg Schmidt committed a rare feat, collecting a triple-double with 15 kills, 13 digs, and 11 assists against UMary on Oct. 9. 

Schmidt is one of 28 players in the nation to record a triple-double this season, and is the first player in school history to record a triple double in the last ten seasons

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE   

The Mustangs opened the season with 11 straight victories, the second longest streak to start a season in program history

SMSU has now won 36 consecutive sets against Minot State, and is 69-3 all time in sets against UMary.

Angela Young leads the Mustangs with 240 kills, with Meg Schmidt contributing 201 kills on a .319 hitting percentage.

The defense is anchored by Payton Hjerleid, who leads the team with 240 digs and Katelyn Nichols, who leads the Mustangs with 64 blocks. 

    ALL AROUND

Four weeks into the regular season, SMSU has been dominant, and the numbers have backed it up

SMSU ranks 12th in the country in hitting percentage with a .265 percentage, and is 12th in the country in kills per set with a 14.00 average.

The Mustangs also rank 17th in opponents hitting percentage, limiting the opposition to a microscopic .120 percentage.

The defense has also been a strength thanks to the 26th most blocks per set and 40th most total blocks in the nation. 

The service line has also been a strength for SMSU, ranking 20th in aces per set at 2.16, while the attack has been lifted with the 37th best assists per set total in the country with 12.39.

    MUSTANGS ON THE LEADERBOARDS

Six separate players find themselves in the top 100 across the NCAA leaderboards five weeks into the season.

Angela Young slots in 14th in kills per set, 15th in total kills, 21st in points per set, and 61th in total attacks.

Alisa Bengen ranks 22nd in assists per set and 61st in assists. 

Rachel Fink ranks 23rd in aces per set and 29th in total aces. 

Meg Schmidt currently ranks 33rd in points per set, 48th in aces, 58th in aces per set, 67th in kills per set, and is 80th in total kills. She also is one of 28 players in the nation to record a triple-double.

Katelyn Nichols ranks 39th in total blocks, and is 46th in blocks per set. 

Emma VanHeel is 53rd in blocks per set, while ranking 59th in total blocks.

    WINONA STATE PREVIEW

2021 Record: 16-2, 7-2

Head Coach: Joe Getzin, eighth season

Mascot: Warriors

AVCA Ranking: 8

Winona State Notes

The Warriors went 2-1 on the week, defeating Concordia-St. Paul 3-1 in non-conference action before defeating Minnesota Duluth 3-1 Friday and falling to St. Cloud State 3-2 on Saturday. 

Winona State has begun the season 16-2, and 3-1 against ranked teams.

The Warriors were picked to finish fifth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll

Winona State is lead by NSIC Preseason Player of the Year Megan Flom, who has tallied 246 kills and 53 blocks in 18 matches this season, and Becca Pagel, who leads the team with 309 digs.

    UPPER IOWA PREVIEW

2021 Record: 13-5, 6-3

Head Coach: Aaron Nelson, 11th season

Mascot: Peacocks

Upper Iowa Notes

The Peacocks went 1-1 last week, losing in four sets to St. Cloud State 3-1 on Friday before defeating Minnesota Duluth 3-1 on Saturday.

UIU has begun the season 13-5, and is 1-3 against ranked teams.

The Peacocks were picked to finish ninth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll

UIU is lead by Madelyn Rettler, who has tallied 162 kills and 171 digs in 18 matches this season, and Charisma Herr, who leads the team with 281 digs.

    ON THE HORIZON

SMSU returns home for a pair of matches against Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul.

The Mustangs will take on Minnesota State Friday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. before welcoming CSP into the PE Gym at 2 p.m. on Oct. 23.

    2021 OUTLOOK

The Mustangs look to reach the NSIC tournament for the first time since 2018 after being narrowly edged out by strength of schedule points index in 2019.

Senior outside hitter Angela Young, who earned All-NSIC first team honors in 2019, returns this season after leading the team with 420 kills in 2019. Young also garnered CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.

Junior right-side hitter Meg Schmidt is back after amassing 328 kills and 62 blocks en route to All-NSIC second team honors.

Junior setter Alisa Bengen also returns after ranking second on the squad two seasons ago with 538 assists. 

Senior Payton Hjerleid will help anchor the defense after recording a team-high 426 digs in 2019, while junior outside hitter Rachel Fink amassed 256 digs and recorded 116 kills.

    THE TERRY CULHANE FILES

Terry Culhane, the all-time wins leader in program history, is in his 18th season as head coach and has an overall record of 424-117, including 251-60 in NSIC play.

The four-time NSIC Coach of the Year, Culhane has never led SMSU to a losing season, a resume that includes a 30-win season, and 11 other seasons with at least 25 wins.

SMSU has won NSIC Tournament titles in 2012 and 2017 and has won a pair of NSIC regular season championships in 2012 and 2016.  

SMSU has played in 15 NCAA Tournaments during Culhane's time with the Mustangs, including a NCAA National Championship appearance in 2014

SMSU's fourth head coach, Culhane spent 23 seasons (1979-2003) as a high school basketball and volleyball coach around the state of Minnesota, including his final four seasons coaching volleyball at Marshall High School, appearing in three state tournaments.

Culhane ranks 16th among active DII coaches in win percentage, while ranking 26th in wins

Culhane's complete bio is found on page 11.

    ALL OR NOTHING 

SMSU is 55-29 in five-set matches during the Culhane era after a five-set setback at the hands of Northern State on Saturday.

The Mustangs are now 1-1 in five-set matches in 2021.

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC 

The 2021 campaign marks the 42nd season SMSU has competed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. 

SMSU has an all-time record of 426-191 in 617 conference matches, finishing in the top five of the final standings 15 of the last 16 season.

SMSU has two regular season championships (2012 and 2016) and two tournament championships (2012 and 2017).