THIS WEEK 

-The No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (10-0) plays its first three home conference matches of the season, starting with Augustana (6-4) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in PE Gym.

-The Mustangs will also face No. 20 St. Cloud State (7-3) at 6 p.m. Friday, and No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (7-3) on Saturday at 2 p.m.

    LAST WEEK  

-The Mustangs opened NSIC play 2-0 in a pair of road matches over the weekend.

-SMSU opened the weekend defeating Bemidji State 25-12, 25-16, 24-26, 25-18 on Friday night

-SMSU finished the weekend defeating Minnesota Crookston 25-13, 25-17, 25-12 on Saturday afternoon.

-Angela Young led the way, recording a double-double in back to back matches. She picked up 13 kills and 12 digs on Friday, before adding 20 kills and 12 digs on Saturday

    SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS  

-Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team finds themselves ranked No. 5 , with three first place votes, in the third regular season American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Division II weekly poll released on Monday afternoon.

-SMSU is one of six NSIC schools ranked in this week's Top 25 with Concordia-St. Paul dropping to No. 6, Wayne State falling to No. 8, Winona State at No. 11, and this weekend's opponents Minnesota Duluth (19) and St. Cloud State (20) joining the Mustangs

    SERIES HISTORY

-Augustana and SMSU will meet for the 67th time, with SMSU leading the series 33-32-1.

-The first meeting took place in 1972, and their last meeting came on Nov. 2, 2019, with the Mustangs losing in straight sets.

-St. Cloud State and SMSU will meet for the 47th time, with SMSU leading the series 26-20

-The first meeting was in 1972 and the last meeting occurred on Oct. 25, 2019, with the Mustangs losing in four sets

-Minnesota Duluth and SMSU will meet for the 88th time, with Minnesota Duluth leading the series 68-19. 

-Their first meeting was in 1973, and their last meeting came on Oct. 26, 2019, with the Mustangs losing in five sets after winning the first two. 

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE   

-The Mustangs have now won 14 consecutive matches dating back to the 2019 season.

-It is their longest winning streak since 2017, when they recorded 16 victories in a row to start their season.

-Through three weeks, the Mustangs have played in 3.30 sets per match, which is the lowest total of all undefeated teams in the country that has played more than two matches.   

-Angela Young leads the Mustangs with 140 kills, with Meg Schmidt contributing 110 kills on a .381 hitting percentage.

-The defense is anchored by Payton Hjerleid, who leads the team with 125 digs and Katelyn Nichols, who leads the Mustangs with 43 kills. 

    ALL AROUND

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

-SMSU ranks sixth in the country in hitting percentage with a .301 percentage, and is 12th in the country in kills per set with a 14.33 average.

-The Mustangs also rank 11th in opponents hitting percentage, limiting the opposition to a microscopic .097 percentage.
-The service line has also been a strength for SMSU, ranking 21st in aces per set at 2.21, while the attack has been lifted with the 29th best assists per set total in the country with 12.64.

    MUSTANGS ON THE LEADERBOARDS

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

-Angela Young slots in 11th in kills per set, 18th in points per set, 33rd in total kills, and 70th in total attacks.

-Katelyn Nichols ranks 16th in blocks per set, and is 30th in total blocks. 

-Alisa Bengen ranks 20th in assists per set and 38th in assists per set. 

-Rachel Fink ranks 33rd in aces per set and is 36th in total aces. 

-Meg Schmidt currently ranks 33rd in hitting percentage, 52nd in points per set , and is 95th in service aces and service aces per set.

-Payton Hjerleid is 70th in total aces and 72nd in aces per set.

    AUGUSTANA PREVIEW

2021 Record: 6-4, 1-1

Head Coach: Jen Jacobs, fifth season

Mascot: Vikings

Augustana Notes

-The Vikings come in after losing in five sets to St. Cloud State before defeating Minnesota Duluth in four sets las weekend. 

-Augustana has begun the season 6-4, and 1-4 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 115 kills in nine matches this season, and Erika Bute, who leads the team with 193 digs.

    ST. CLOUD STATE PREVIEW

2021 Record: 7-3, 2-0

Head Coach: Chad Braegelmann, sixth season

Mascot: Huskies

St. Cloud State Notes

-The Huskies come to town after defeating Augustana in five sets before defeating Wayne State in four sets. 

-St. Cloud State has begun the season 7-3, and 1-1 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 128 kills in ten matches this season, and Phebie Rossi, who leads the team with 47 blocks.

    MINNESOTA DULUTH PREVIEW

2021 Record: 7-3, 0-2

Head Coach: Jim Boos, 20th season

Mascot: Bulldogs

Minnesota Duluth Notes

-The Bulldogs come to town after dropping a pair of conference matches at home, losing to Wayne State 3-1 on Friday before dropping a four set match to Augustana on Saturday.

-Minnesota Duluth has begun the season 7-3, and is 0-1 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

-SMSU will continue its road through the NSIC conference, traveling to MSU Moorhead at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, before heading to Aberdeen, S.D. to match up against Northern State on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m.

    RECORD BREAKER  

-Payton Hjerleid etched her name into the record books after tying the SMSU single match record for service aces with an eight ace performance against Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, Sept. 4.

-Hjerleid ranks second on the Mustangs and third in the NSIC with 0.58 aces per set
 

    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 420-116, including 247-59 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 54-28 in five-set matches during the Culhane era, including a five-set victory over Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D., on Nov. 8, 2019.

-The Mustangs finished 3-2 in five-set matches in 2019.

    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 422-190 in 612 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 1,699 matches compiling an all-time record of 1,008-683-12. 

-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.