THIS WEEK
 
-SMSU begins a three-match week on Tuesday, hosting Sioux Falls at 6 p.m.
 
    LAST WEEK  
 
-The Mustangs went 1-1 over the weekend, falling to No. 9 Minnesota Duluth in five sets before topping No. 4 St. Cloud State in five sets.
 
-Minnesota Duluth outlasted SMSU 25-17, 15-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-9 in a defensive battle on Friday night. 
 
-The Mustangs responded on Saturday, using 23 kills from Meg Schmidt and 51 assists from Alisa Bengen to earn a dramatic come-from-behind five-set victory over the Huskies. 
 
     SCHMIDT SHINES ON WAY TO MILESTONE
 
-On Friday night, Meg Schmidt became the 16th Mustang to record 1,000 career kills. 

-She finished Friday with a match-high 18 kills in the loss to UMD.

-She kept it rolling into Saturday afternoon, recording a career-high 23 kills against SCSU to lead SMSU to their first win over a top 5 opponent since defeating CSP last season. 

     ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE  
 
-The Mustangs opened the season with 11 straight victories, tying last years club for the second longest streak to start a season in program history.
 
-Saari Kuehl leads the Mustangs with 173 kills and 2.93 kills per set, with Emma VanHeel contributing 137 kills, while Halle Jansen has recorded 149 kills.
 
-Karli Arkell has quickly adjusted to the college game, recording 130 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. 
 
-Alisa Bengen has done a little of everything from the setter position, dishing out 623 assists, 104 digs, 63 kills, and 15 blocks.
 
-The defense is anchored by McKenzie Tolk and Natalee Rolbiecki, a pair of freshmen from Minneota who lead the team with 170 digs and 158 digs, respectively.
 
-Arkell and VanHeel have held down the front line defensively, recording 58 and 55 blocks, respectively.
 
    THE TYLER BODDY FILES  
 
-Tyler Boddy is in his first season as head coach at Southwest Minnesota State University after being named to the position on Dec. 17, 2021.
 
-He won 11 straight matches to begin his career, the most in Mustang history.
 
-Boddy, who has spent the past 10 years as an assistant coach at SMSU, becomes the fifth head coach in the program's 50-year history.
 
-Boddy joined the SMSU coaching staff in 2012 and since that time the program has appeared in seven NCAA tournaments, including finishing as NCAA national runners-up in 2014. SMSU has a combined record of 225-64 during his tenure which includes two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season titles and two NSIC tournament championships.
 
-Since joining the staff, Boddy has recruited or coached 37 All-NSIC honorees, 16 AVCA All-Americans, a three-time NSIC Player of the Year, a two-time AVCA National Player of the Year and three CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
 
-For his efforts during his coaching career, Boddy was named a recipient of the Thirty Under 30 Award from the American Volleyball Coaches Association in April of 2019. He was promoted to associate head coach in the summer of 2021.
 
-Boddy, a native of New Ulm, Minn., came to SMSU after spending two seasons (2010-11) as an assistant coach at Wisconsin-Oshkosh and one season (2009) at Ripon College. Boddy has also had a successful coaching career in club volleyball with his Southwest Minnesota Volleyball Club teams winning national championships in 2014 and 2018.
 
-Boddy, a 2012 graduate of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, lives in Marshall with his wife, Alex, sons, Bronx and Wilke, and daughter, Rowan.
 
    SERIES HISTORY
 
-SMSU and Sioux Falls will meet for the 20th time, with the Mustangs leading the series 16-3.
 
-Their first meeting came in 1981, and their most recent meeting came in October of 2021, which resulted in a four-set road victory for the Cougars in Sioux Falls
 
-Sioux Falls has won two of the last three meetings 
 
-SMSU is 8-1 all-time at home against USF, and will play in Marshall for the first time since 2018. 
 
 
    SIOUX FALLS PREVIEW
 
2022 Record: 9-6, 5-3 NSIC
 
Head Coach: Dan Mathews, 2nd season
 
Mascot: Cougars
 
NSIC Preseason Rank: 11th
 
Sioux Falls Notes
 
-The Cougars went 0-2 last week, dropping matches to St. Cloud State and Minnesota-Duluth last weekend. 
 
-USF is led by Courtney Holsteen, whose 162 kills lead the team, and Sadie Voss, heads the back line with 161 digs.  
 
 
    KUEHL, BENGEN NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
 
-Saari Kuehl and Alisa Bengen were named to the All-Tournament Team at the Colorado School of Mines Classic Aug. 26-27.
 
-Kuehl led the Mustangs with 50 kills in four games, including a career-high 15 kills to help defeat Colorado Mesa.
 
-Bengen had a career weekend, recording 165 assists, including a career-high 57 assists against Mesa, and picked up a career-high 10 kills while hitting .833 in a win over Colorado School of Mines
 
-Also deserving of recognition, Halle Jansen closed the weekend with 45 kills on a .346 hitting percentage, recording a career-high 16 kills against Mesa and 15 kills against Mines. 
 
-Emma VanHeel collected 48 kills on a .263 hitting percentage topped her previous career-high of 12 kills twice, first with a 14 kill match against Mesa before a 14 kill effort against Mines, while also tallying 20 blocks on the weekend, third most in the NSIC.
 
-Rounding out our impressive performances are three freshmen, Karli Arkell, McKenzie Tolk, and Natalee Rolbiecki.
 
-Arkell had 14 kills in the Mesa victory, Tolk led the team with 41 digs, including a pair of double digit dig performances, and Rolbiecki had 39 digs, including a team-high 17 against Colorado Christian. 
 
 
    SMSU TABBED SEVENTH IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL
 
-The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team was picked to finish seventh in the annual 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll
 
-Concordia-St. Paul was selected as the preseason favorites to win the conference earning 217 points and nine first place votes (coaches can't vote for their own school). Defending NSIC regular season and tournament champion, St. Cloud State, earned 213 points and the remaining seven first place votes to finish in second place, followed by Wayne State with 189 points, Augustana with 179 points, while Minnesota Duluth and Northern State tied for fifth place with 149 points. SMSU rounded out the top seven earning 146 points.
 
    2022 OUTLOOK
 
-The Mustangs look to reach the NSIC tournament for the second consecutive season, returning eight letter winners and adding seven freshmen.
 
-Senior right-side hitter Meg Schmidt earned All-NSIC first team and AVCA All-American honorable mention accolades in 2021 after ranking second on the squad with 334 kills, while hitting a team-high .304. She finished among top three on the team in kills (334), points (409.5), assists (129), service aces (32) and blocks (64) a season ago.
 
-Sophomore middle blockers Emma VanHeel and Katelyn Nichols look to build off strong freshman campaigns that saw them finish third and fourth in kills, respectively, and top two on the team in blocks.
 
-Senior setter Alisa Bengen also returns after ranking first on the squad with 707 assists a season ago, while senior libero/defensive specialist Rachel Fink will look to anchor the defense after collecting 195 digs a season ago while also finishing with a team-high 43 service aces.
 
-Sophomore outside hitter Halle Jansen played in all 29 matches last season, finishing fifth on the team in kills with 92 and in blocks with 27.
 
    ON THE HORIZON
 
-SMSU travel to face Minot State and UMary over the weekend. 
 
-The Mustangs face the Beavers at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, and the Marauders on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 2 p.m.