MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball program announced its 2022 schedule on Thursday with 28 regular season matches and 10 scheduled inside the PE Gym. 
 
The Mustangs also have three dates of spring exhibitions scheduled. They begin by going to South Dakota State for a tournament on Mar. 26, and then to Augustana on Apr. 2 before hosting St. Cloud State and South Dakota State on April 23 inside the PE Gym. Home exhibitions are open to the public.  
 
SMSU will open next season on the road with a pair of tournaments on the last weekend of August and first weekend of September. SMSU will go to the Colorado School of Mines Classic in Golden, Colo., for the second consecutive season, with four matches on Aug. 26-27, before heading to Missouri on Sept. 2-3 to play four matches at the Drury/Southwest Baptist Classic.   
 
The Mustangs will open their 20-match Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule on Sept. 9-10 inside the PE Gym with Winona State on Sept. 9 and Upper Iowa on Sept 10. 
 
SMSU hits the road Sept 16, taking on Minnesota State in Mankato, before heading to Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 17. The Mustangs will then head to Minnesota Crookston on Sept. 23 before playing at Bemidji State on Sept. 24. 
 
The Mustangs return to the PE Gym on Sept. 30, hosting Minnesota Duluth for their 11th annual "Red Out", and Oct. 1 for Homecoming to host St. Cloud State. They then welcome Sioux Falls to Marshall for a midweek match on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
 
SMSU heads North for the weekend of Oct. 7-8, traveling to Minot State and UMary, respectively.
 
The Mustangs will head home for the weekend of Oct. 14-15, hosting MSU Moorhead and Northern State, and then head to Sioux Falls for a Thursday night match-up with Augustana on Oct. 20, before returning home and welcoming Wayne State on Oct. 22.
 
After a Tuesday, Oct. 25 trip to Sioux Falls to take on the Cougars, SMSU returns home, hosting Concordia-St. Paul for Senior Night on Oct. 28, and Parent's Day on Oct. 29 against Minnesota State at 4 p.m.
 
The Mustangs spend their final weekend of the season in Fayette, Iowa, and Winona, playing Upper Iowa on Nov. 4 and Winona State on Nov. 5. 
 
The top eight teams in the final NSIC standings will advance to the NSIC Tournament at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Nov. 10-12.

All weekday conference matches are scheduled at 6 p.m., while weekend matches are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., unless otherwise noted. 
 
Southwest Minnesota State finished the 2021 season with an 21-8 overall record. The 2022 season will mark the start of the Tyler Boddy era, as he takes over for Terry Culhane, who announced his retirement towards the end of last season. SMSU has won 20 or more matches in 17 of 18 seasons.