-The No. 11 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (13-2 overall, 5-2 NSIC) returns home, celebrating homecoming against Minot State and UMary

-The Mustangs will play against the Beavers at 6 p.m. on Friday, before hosting UMary at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

    LAST WEEK  

-The Mustangs went on the road, splitting a pair of NSIC matches, sweeping MSU Moorhead before falling in five sets to Northern State

-SMSU started the week defeating MSU Moorhead 25-17, 25-15, 25-16.

-Meg Schmidt tallied 15 kills on a .542 hitting percentage, while Alisa Bengen set the table offensively with 34 assists and added to the defense with a season-high 12 digs, and Payton Hjerleid led the team defensively with 15 digs and added four assists of her own.

-SMSU closed its weekend losing in five sets to Northern State 24-26, 26-24, 26-24, 19-25, 15-11.

-The loss ended the second longest winning streak to open a season in program history at 11 matches.  

-Angela Young had 20 kills, nine digs, and three blocks to lead the offense, with Hjerleid's 18 digs and Bengen's 15 digs and five blocks anchoring the defense

    SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS  

-After a sweep of MSU Moorhead and a five-set loss to Northern State, the Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team (13-2) dropped to No. 11 in the fifth regular season American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Division II weekly poll.

-SMSU is one of six NSIC schools ranked in this week's Top 25 with Concordia-St. Paul holding steady at No. 4, Wayne State moving into a tie at No. 6, Winona State locking in at No. 9, St. Cloud State locked at No. 16, and Minnesota Duluth staying at No. 22.

    SERIES HISTORY

-Minot State and SMSU will meet for the 12th time, with SMSU leading the series 11-0.

-The first meeting took place in 2012, while their last meeting took place in November of 2019, when SMSU defeated MISU in three sets.

-UMary and SMSU will meet for the 23rd time, with SMSU leading the series 22-0

-The first meeting was in 2006 and the last meeting occurred on Nov. 15, 2019, with the Mustangs winning in four sets. 

    FABULOUS FRESHMEN   

-SMSU has received a boost from its youth in the first 15 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 133 kills, and is second on the team with 52 blocks, and Katelyn Nichols, who leads the team with 60 blocks, and is fourth on the team with 80 kills. Both VanHeel and Nichols have played in every set this season. 

-Sophie Johnson has played in 49 of 52 sets for the Mustangs, picking up 80 digs in twelve starts

-Halle Jansen has played in all 15 games for SMSU, collecting 27 kills, 29 digs and seven blocks.

-Saari Kuehl has played in 11 games and 21 sets for SMSU, with 20 kills and 10 digs.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE   

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

-Saturday's loss was the first loss against an unranked opponent in 2021, and was also the five-set loss of the season.

-Angela Young leads the Mustangs with 215 kills, with Meg Schmidt contributing 177 kills on a .318 hitting percentage.

-The defense is anchored by Payton Hjerleid, who leads the team with 175 digs and Katelyn Nichols, who leads the Mustangs with 54 blocks. 

    ALL AROUND

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

-SMSU ranks 18th in the country in hitting percentage with a .257 percentage, and is 19th in the country in kills per set with a 13.94 average.

-The Mustangs also rank 15th in opponents hitting percentage, limiting the opposition to a microscopic .119 percentage.

-The defense has also been a strength thanks to the 29nd most blocks per set and 33rd most total blocks in the nation. 

-The service line has also been a strength for SMSU, ranking 32nd in aces per set at 2.06, while the attack has been lifted with the 42nd best assists per set total in the country with 12.25.

    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 12th in total kills, 14th in kills per set, 21st in points per set, and 45th in total attacks.

-Katelyn Nichols ranks 29th in blocks per set, and is 37th in total blocks. 

-Alisa Bengen ranks 24th in assists per set and 27th in assists. 

-Meg Schmidt currently ranks 40th in points per set, 77th in total kills, 84th in kills per set, and is 94th in aces

-Emma VanHeel is 72nd in total blocks, while ranking 73rd in blocks per set.

-Rachel Fink ranks 94th in aces.

    MINOT STATE PREVIEW

2021 Record: 0-13, 0-8

Head Coach: Dana Cordova-Jacobson, fifth season

Mascot: Beavers

Minot State Notes

-The Beavers went 0-3 last week, dropping each match in three sets.

-Minot State has begun the season 0-13, and 0-4 against ranked teams.

-The Beavers were picked to finish 15th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll

-Minot State is led by freshman outside hitter Alexandra Koontz, who has tallied 80 kills and 66 digs in thirteen matches this season, and Tea Boeckel, who leads the team with 86 digs.

    UMARY PREVIEW

2021 Record: 3-13, 0-7

Head Coach: Abby Pollart, first season

Mascot: Marauders

UMary Notes

-The Marauders went 1-2 last week, defeating Minot State in non-conference action on Tuesday before dropping Friday's match to Wayne State and Saturday's game against Augustana in three sets.

-UMary has begun the season 3-13, and is 0-3 against ranked teams.

-The Marauders were picked to finish 16h in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll

-UMary is led by senior libero Natalia Cruz, who has tallied 113 kills and 135 digs in 16 matches this season, and Kaia Sueker, who leads the team with 226 digs.

    ON THE HORIZON

-SMSU hits the road, heading east to face Winona State and Upper Iowa.

-The Mustangs will take on Winona State Friday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. before heading to Fayette, Iowa for a 5 p.m. tilt against Upper Iowa on Oct. 16 at 5 p.m.

    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 422-117, including 249-60 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 IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT 

-SMSU has made 16 NCAA Tournament appearances (2001, 2004-2018) in program history since moving to Division II in 1995-96. 

-SMSU is 17-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches, appearing in three region championship matches, and was NCAA National runner-up in 2014.

    SEASON OPENERS 

-SMSU is 30-20 all-time in openers following this season's 3-1 win against No. 10 Colorado Mesa.

-SMSU has opened the season 15-2 since Culhane took the helm in 2004.

    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 424-191 in 615 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). 

    MUSTANG HISTORY 

-Southwest Minnesota State is in its 51st season of volleyball and 50th season of competition in 2021.

-SMSU has played 1,701 matches compiling an all-time record of 1,010-684-12. 

-SMSU has won two NSIC regular season championships (2012 & 2016), two NSIC tournament championships (2012, 2017), a NCAA region championship and NCAA DII National Championship appearance in 2014, and has appeared in 16 NCAA tournaments (2001, 2004-18).

-SMSU has recorded 32 winning seasons in program history with 17 straight.