THIS WEEK
The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (18-5 overall, 9-4 NSIC) look to overcome its road woes, traveling to Augustana on Tuesday before a weekend at Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State.
The Mustangs will head to Sioux Falls, S.D., to take on Augustana Tuesday at 6 p.m.
They'll then head north to do battle against Minnesota Duluth on Friday at 6 p.m., before going to St. Cloud to face the Huskies at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
LAST WEEK
The Mustangs split a pair, losing on the road at Sioux Falls before defeating No. 11 Wayne State at home on Saturday.
SMSU fell in four sets on the road at the University of Sioux Falls by a score of 25-21, 25-27, 27-25, 25-21 on Friday.
Angela Young recorded 20 kills and nine digs to lead the way for SMSU. Meg Schmidt would add 17 kills, six digs, and four blocks with a .394 hitting percentage. Emma VanHeel led the way defensively, collecting a career-high 10 blocks to go with 10 kills, while Payton Hjerleid would lead the team with 11 digs.
SMSU closed out the week by recovering from a slow start to defeat No. 11 Wayne State College 18-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-18
Young recorded a double-double with 19 kills and 10 digs, while VanHeel continued her strong freshman campaign with 12 kills to lead the Mustangs on offense. Hjerleid collected a season-high 22 digs while Katelyn Nichols knocked down eight attacks while adding nine kills and three aces to lead the team defensively. Schmidt helped pace the offense with a career-high 27 assists to go with nine kills and seven digs.
SERIES HISTORY
Augustana and SMSU will meet for the 68th time, with SMSU leading the series 34-32-1.
The first meeting took place in 1972, while their last meeting took place in September, when SMSU defeated Augie in three sets.
Minnesota Duluth and SMSU will meet for the 89th time, with UMD leading the series 68-20.
The first meeting was in 1973 and their last meeting occurred on Sept. 25, 2021, with the Mustangs defeating the Bulldogs in five sets.
St. Cloud State and SMSU will meet up for the 48th time, with the Mustangs holding a 26-21 advantage.
Their first meeting came in 1972, while their last came in September when SCSU defeated the Mustangs in three sets.
FABULOUS FRESHMEN
SMSU has received a boost from its youth in the first 21 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 197 kills, and is second on the team with 89 blocks, and Katelyn Nichols, who leads the team with 93 blocks, and is fourth on the team with 121 kills. Both VanHeel and Nichols have played in every set this season.
Sophie Johnson has played in 80 of 83 sets for the Mustangs, picking up 123 digs and 156 assists in 14 starts. Johnson averaged 19 assists per match over the weekend.
Halle Jansen has played in all 23 matches for SMSU, collecting 70 kills, 46 digs and 20 blocks.
Brooklyn Kusler finished the match with five kills and a career-high five blocks to go with a career-high four digs
Young earns NSIC weekly honor
Senior outside hitter Angela Young was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Week following her performances in SMSU's 3-0 win against Minnesota State and 3-1 win against No. 5 Concordia St. Paul
Young dazzled over the weekend, recording 43 kills, including a career-high 26 kill performance against the No. 5-ranked Golden Bears. She would finish the match with a double-double as she added 12 digs and a pair of aces.
She also lead the way against Minnesota State on Friday, leading a ferocious offensive onslaught with 17 kills to go along with seven digs.
She would end the weekend with 6.14 digs per set while hitting .392 and recording 19 digs. She is the first Mustang to win an NSIC weekly honor since Oct. 29, 2018, when Taylor Reiss earned co-offensive honors.
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 and 1131 kills in her career.
She also became the first player since 2018 to earn NSIC offensive player of the week honors with 43 kills and 6.13 kills per set against Minnesota State and No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul on Oct. 22-23.
Meg Schmidt recorded a rare feat, collecting a triple-double with 15 kills, 13 digs, and 11 assists against UMary on Oct. 9.
Schmidt is one of 33 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 lost two of their last three meetings against Sioux Falls after winning 15 of their first 16 matches,
SMSU tied the all-time series against Wayne State at 30-30-1, while defeating them for the first time since 2018.
Angela Young leads the Mustangs with 358 kills and 4.31 kills per set, with Meg Schmidt contributing 288 kills on a .321 hitting percentage.
The defense is anchored by Payton Hjerleid, who leads the team with 343 digs and Katelyn Nichols, who leads the Mustangs with 93 blocks.
ALL AROUND
SMSU can be found all over the top five in conference statistics
SMSU ranks second in the NSIC in kills per set with a 13.91 average.
The Mustangs also rank fourth in opponents hitting percentage, limiting the opposition to a microscopic .149 percentage while limiting them to a league-low 10.40 kills per set.
The defense has also been a strength thanks to the fifth most blocks in the conference
The service line has also been a strength for SMSU, ranking third in aces with 99 while the attack has been lifted with the third best assists total with 715.
MUSTANGS ON THE LEADERBOARDS
Five separate players find themselves in the top 10 across the NSIC leaderboards with two weeks left in the season
Angela Young slots first in kills, and is second in kills per set and points per set.
Meg Schmidt currently ranks eighth in kills per set and tenth in points per set and in kills per set.
She is also one of three players in the conference to record a triple-double.
Katelyn Nichols ranks seventh in aces and aces per set, while coming in 10th in total blocks.
Emma VanHeel is fourth in blocks, while ranking seventh blocks per set.
Payton Hjerleid is fourth in digs and sixth in digs per set
Alisa Bengen has the ninth-most assists per set
AUGUSTANA PREVIEW
2021 Record: 14-9, 9-6
Head Coach: Jen Jacobs, fifth season
Mascot: Vikings
Augustana Notes
The Vikings host the Mustangs after losing in four sets to No. 11 Wayne State before defeating Sioux Falls in four sets las weekend.
Augustana has begun the season 14-9, and 1-8 against ranked teams.
The Vikings were picked to finish eighth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll
Augustana is lead by junior outside hitter Maddy Guetter, who has tallied 305 kills in 22 matches this season, and Erika Bute, who leads the team with 422 digs.
ST. CLOUD STATE PREVIEW
2021 Record: 19-4, 14-1
Head Coach: Chad Braegelmann, sixth season
Mascot: Huskies
St. Cloud State Notes
The Huskies come into the week after a pair of sweeps, defeating Minnesota Duluth on the road and Minnesota Crookston at home.
St. Cloud State has begun the season 19-4, and 3-1 against ranked teams.
The Huskies were picked to finish third in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll
St. Cloud State is lead by sophomore outside hitter Kenzie Foley, who has tallied 307 kills in ten matches this season, and Phebie Rossi, who leads the team with 96 blocks.
MINNESOTA DULUTH PREVIEW
2021 Record: 16-8, 8-7
Head Coach: Jim Boos, 20th season
Mascot: Bulldogs
Minnesota Duluth Notes
The Bulldogs come into the week after splitting a pair of conference matches, losing to St. Cloud State in three sets at home before sweeping Bemidji State on the road.
Minnesota Duluth has begun the season 16-8, and is 1-5 against ranked teams.
The Bulldogs were picked to finish second in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll
Minnesota Duluth is lead by sophomore outside hitter Cianna Selbitschka, who has tallied 158 kills in ten matches this season, and Sydney Lanoue, who leads the team with 171 digs.
ON THE HORIZON
The Mustangs return home for the final matches of the regular season, hosting Minnesota Crookston at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12 before welcoming Bemidji State at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13
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.
