THIS WEEK

-The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (19-7 overall, 11-7 NSIC) close out the regular season with a pair of home games against Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State.

-The Mustangs will host Minnesota Crookston for Senior Night at 6 p.m. Friday, and host Bemidji State for Parent's Day on Saturday at 2 p.m.

-SMSU controls their own destiny to the NSIC tournament as they lead UMD and Sioux Falls by a match with one weekend to go. 

    LAST WEEK  

-The Mustangs went 1-2 on the week, dropping four set matches in Augustana on Tuesday and at St. Cloud State on Saturday, while defeating Minnesota Duluth in Duluth on Friday.

-SMSU fell in four sets on the road at Augustana College by a score of 12-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-19 on Tuesday. 

-Angela Young recorded 20 kills and nine digs while hitting .326 to lead the Mustangs. Emma VanHeel picked up 12 kills of her own to help the SMSU attack. Payton Hjerleid led the defense with 18 digs, with Rachel Fink recording 12 digs, her highest total since the first match of the season. 

-SMSU began the weekend with a 26-24, 25-23, 25-18 victory at Minnesota Duluth on Friday. 

-Young led the offense with 16 kills while Meg Schmidt added 12 kills, six digs, and five assists. Hjerleid and Fink combined for 21 digs to lead the way defensively, with Katelyn Nichols adding four blocks.

-SMSU closed the weekend falling 25-17, 25-21, 17-25, 25-17 at St. Cloud State on Saturday afternoon.

-Schmidt recorded 15 kills, eight digs and three blocks to lead the way for SMSU. Young would add nine kills and 10 digs. Nichols led the way defensively, collecting six blocks to go with four digs, while Hjerleid would lead the team with 17 digs.

    THE TERRY CULHANE FILES

-Terry Culhane, the all-time wins leader in program history, announced on Monday he will be retiring as head coach and as assistant professor in the SMSU Education Department at the end of the 2021 fall semester. 

-Culhane is in his 18th season as head coach and has an overall record of 429-123, including 256-66 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 25th in wins

-Culhane's complete bio is found on page 11.

    SERIES HISTORY

-Minnesota Crookston and SMSU will meet for the 37th time, with SMSU leading the series 35-1 while winning the last 27 meetings.

-The first meeting took place in 1999, while their last meeting took place in September, when SMSU defeated UMC in three sets.

-Bemidji State and SMSU will meet for the 98th time, with SMSU leading the series 67-30.

-The first meeting was in 1977 and their last meeting occurred on Sept. 17, 2021, with the Mustangs defeating the Beavers in four sets.

    SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS  

-After a 1-2 weekend that saw four set losses to Augustana and previous No. 12 ranked St. Cloud State and a three set victory against Minnesota Duluth, the Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team (19-7) jumped a spot to No. 17 in the 10th 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 Winona State coming in at No. 8, St. Cloud State at No. 11, Concordia-St. Paul at No. 14, and Wayne State at No. 15 joining the No. 17-ranked Mustangs.

    FABULOUS FRESHMEN   

-SMSU has received a boost from its youth 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 220 kills, and is second on the team with 95 blocks, and Katelyn Nichols, who leads the team with 107 blocks, and is fourth on the team with 130 kills. Both VanHeel and Nichols have played in every set this season. 

-Sophie Johnson has played in 91 of 94 sets for the Mustangs, picking up 139 digs and 198 assists in 14 starts. Johnson averaged 5.33 digs per match last week. 

-Halle Jansen has played in all 26 matches for SMSU, collecting 79 kills, 49 digs and 24 blocks.

-Brooklyn Kusler finished Saturday with six kills and four blocks.

    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 on Oct. 22-23.

-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 10th in school history with 1176 kills  and 3.41 kills per set 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 enters the final two games with a 7-1 home record, their best home win percentage since 2016.

-Angela Young leads the Mustangs with 403 kills and 4.29 kills per set, with Meg Schmidt contributing 322 kills on a .307 hitting percentage.

-The defense is anchored by Payton Hjerleid, who leads the team with 389 digs and Katelyn Nichols, who leads the Mustangs with 107 blocks. 

    ALL AROUND

-SMSU can be found all over the top 100 in NCAA statistics

-SMSU ranks 22nd in the NCAA in kills per set with a 13.76 average and in hitting percentage with a .253 average.

-The Mustangs also rank 52nd in opponents hitting percentage, limiting the opposition to a .145 percentage.

-The defense has also been a strength thanks to the 26th most blocks and blocks per set in the country.

-The service line has also been a strength for SMSU, ranking 54th in aces while the attack has been lifted with the 38th best assists per set total.

    MUSTANGS ON THE LEADERBOARDS

-Four separate players find themselves in the top 75 across the NCAA leaderboards with a week left in the season

-Angela Young slots fifth in kills, and is 10th in kills per set and points per set.

-Meg Schmidt currently ranks 49th in points per set, 56th in kills, and 88th in kills per set.

-She is also one of 34 players in the country to record a triple-double.

-Katelyn Nichols ranks 23rd in the country in total blocks and 27th in blocks per set. 

-Emma VanHeel is 54th in blocks, while ranking 72nd blocks per set.

    MINNESOTA CROOKSTON PREVIEW

2021 Record: 1-22, 0-18

Head Coach: Sarah Morgan, fifth season

Mascot: Golden Eagles

Minnesota Crookston Notes

-The Golden Eagles travel to Marshall after losing in three sets to Minnesota Duluth, Augustana, and Wayne State at home.

-Minnesota Crookston has begun the season 1-22, and 0-6 against ranked teams.

-UMC was picked to finish 14th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll

-The Golden Eagles are led by outside hitter Lauren Wallace, who has tallied 161 kills in 23 matches this season, and Layne Whaley, who leads the team with 186 digs.

    BEMIDJI STATE PREVIEW

2021 Record: 2-24, 2-16

Head Coach: Kevin Ulmer, sixth season

Mascot: Beavers

Bemidji State Notes

-The Beavers come to town after going 0-3 last week, dropping three set matches to St. Cloud State, Wayne State, and Augustana.

-Bemidji State has begun the season 2-24, and 0-7 against ranked teams.

-The Beavers were picked to finish 13th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll

-Bemidji State is lead by outside hitter Anna Averkamp, who has tallied 234 kills in 26 matches this season, and Madison Weyker, who leads the team with 255 digs.

    ON THE HORIZON

-With a pair of victories, the Mustangs will head to Sioux Falls for the NSIC tournament. Matchups will be announced Saturday evening following the conclusion of all matches. 

    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.