THIS WEEKEND
-The No. 7-ranked Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (23-5 overall, 15-5 NSIC) opens up the NSIC Tournament as the fourth seed after finding themselves in a tie for fourth place in the regular season.
-The Mustangs will battle the fifth-seeded St. Cloud State Huskies (23-5, 15-5) at 5 p.m. on Friday at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.
-The winner moves on to play the winner of top-seeded Wayne State and eighth-seeded Augustana at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday.
-Friday night's match will be broadcast on 101.7/1400 KMHL, with Anthony Rohlik on the call.
-All NSIC Tournament matches can be viewed on the NSIC Network.

    LAST TIME OUT
-The Mustangs went 2-0 on the road last weekend to solidify their spot in the top half of the NSIC Tournament.
-SMSU took care of business on the road, defeating Upper Iowa, 25-21, 19-25, 25-18, 25-12 on Friday night.
-The Mustangs concluded their regular season on Saturday afternoon, claiming a 25-22, 25-23, 25-16 victory over Winona State.

    SCHMIDT, BENGEN VANHEEL EARN ALL-NSIC HONORS
-The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced last week that Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball player Meg Schmidt was named first team All-NSIC, while Alisa Bengen and Emma VanHeel were named second team All-NSIC.
-Schmidt, a senior right-side hitter from Jordan, Minn., leads SMSU with 310 kills, while recording a .281 hitting percentage. She also ranks third on the team with 62 blocks. In NSIC play, Schmidt ranks first in kills (282) and sixth in kills per set (3.66).
-Bengen, a senior setter from Janesville, Iowa, has done a little of everything this season. She has dished out 1126 assists, 205 digs, 117 kills, and 31 blocks, ranking top six on the team in each category. She is currently ranked first in conference play in assists (811) and fifth in assists per set (10.67). Bengen ranks 21st in the nation with 10.74 assists per set, and has reached double digits in digs seven times.
-VanHeel, a sophomore middle blocker from Otsego, Minn., has been a force on the front line of the SMSU defense ranking first in the NSIC with 26 solo blocks in conference play and is fifth in the nation with 34 solo blocks overall. She is also 13th in the NSIC with 60 total blocks in conference play, while ranking 66th nationally with 93 total blocks on the season. VanHeel has also taken a step forward offensively, picking up 248 kills and 2.51 kills per set.

     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.
-SMSU was ranked in the top five of the AVCA poll twice this season, marking the second and third time the Mustangs were ranked in the top five since the 2018 preseason poll.
-Meg Schmidt leads the Mustangs with 310 kills, while Saari Kuehl has recorded 285 kills, and Emma VanHeel contributing 248 kills.
-Schmidt has been on fire as of late, recording an NSIC best 234 kills, and is second in the conference with 4.11 kills per set in her last 14 matches.
-Karli Arkell has made a great adjustment to the college game, recording 187 kills while hitting .288.
-Alisa Bengen has done a little of everything from the setter position, dishing out 1126 assists, 205 digs, 117 kills, and 31 blocks.
-The defense is anchored by Natalee Rolbiecki and McKenzie Tolk, a pair of freshmen from Minneota who lead the team with 342 digs and 260 digs, respectively.
-Arkell and VanHeel have held down the front line defensively, recording 96 and 93 blocks, respectively.

    MUSTANGS SLOT NO. 7 IN SECOND CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS
-The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team is ranked No. 6 in the final NCAA Division II Central Region rankings released Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA national committee.
-SMSU is one of five NSIC schools to appear in the region rankings along with Wayne State (No. 1), Concordia-St. Paul (No. 2), Minnesota Duluth (No. 3), and St. Cloud State (No. 9). The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) also has four teams listed, in Northwest Missouri State (No. 4), Nebraska-Kearney (No. 5), Central Missouri (No. 7), and Central Oklahoma (No. 8). The third conference in the region, the Great American Conference (GAC) has one team ranked, with Harding making its debut at No. 10.


    SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS  
-After a pair of road victories to conclude its regular season, the Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball held tight at No. 7 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Poll released on Monday afternoon.
-The Mustangs are one of five NSIC schools ranked in the AVCA Top 25 with Wayne State (15 first-place votes) and Concordia-St. Paul slotting at second and third, respectively, Minnesota Duluth jumping a spot to No. 5, and St. Cloud State dropping to No. 9.

    SERIES HISTORY
-SMSU and St. Cloud State will meet for the 51st time, with the Mustangs leading the series 27-23.
-Their first meeting came in 1972, and their most recent meeting came on October 1st, when the No. 7 ranked Mustangs used 23 kills from Meg Schmidt,and 51 assists from -Alisa Bengen to earn a dramatic come-from-behind five-set victory over No. 4 ranked St. Cloud State
-SMSU's October victory ended a five-match SCSU win streak.
-SMSU is 2-3 against the Huskies at a neutral site.
-The match will be a rematch from the first round of the 2021 NSIC Tournament, when the top-seeded Huskies swept the eighth-seeded Mustangs.

    ST. CLOUD STATE PREVIEW
2022 Record: 23-5, 15-5 NSIC
Head Coach: Chad Braegelmann, eighth season
Mascot: Huskies
NSIC Preseason Rank: 2nd
AVCA Rank: 9th

St. Cloud State Notes
-The Huskies went 2-0 last weekend, sweeping Minot State and UMary at home
-SCSU is led by Lindsey Rachel, the program record holder in career kills and is one of three All-NSIC First Team members, alongside Phebie Rossi and Kenzie Foley.

     MUSTANGS ON THE LEADERBOARDS
-SMSU can be found all over the NCAA DII Leaderboard
-The Mustangs attack ranks 17th in the nation in kills per set (13.96), and 23rd in assists per set (12.77)
-The offense has also been powered by the 33rd best hitting percentage in the nation (.247)
-The defense has also been a strength thanks to the 48th most blocks per set (2.14) in the country.
-Senior Alisa Bengen has been the offensive catalyst, ranking 12th in the nation with 1,123 assists and 21st with 10.80 assists per set.
-Karli Arkell and Emma VanHeel slot in at 85th (96), and 99th (93) in total blocks, respectively.
-Full ranking summary can be found on page 13.