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SMSU Athletic Communications

Volleyball

No. 7 SMSU back on the road for battles with CSP and Winona State

THIS WEEK
  • The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (14-2, 7-1 NSIC) is back on the road Thursday, Oct. 12, for a top-ranked match against No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul in the Gangelhoff Center, at 6 p.m.
  • SMSU then travels to Winona State for a match with the Warriors on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 11 a.m.

MATCH COVERAGE
  • Live stats and video for all matches will be available at SMSUmustangs.com
  • Stay up to date on the Mustangs throughout the weekend by downloading the official SMSU Athletics app on your smartphone.

SERIES HISTORY
  • Thursday will be the 70th meeting between the SMSU and CSP, with the Golden Bears leading the overall series 28-41.
  • Their first meeting came in 1976, and their most recent meeting came in October of 2022, which resulted in a five-set road victory for the Golden Bears.
  • The Golden Bears have won seven of the last ten meetings, and have only lost one match to the Mustangs in St. Paul, Minn. in the last five. 
  • SMSU is 12-21 all-time on the road against CSP.
  • SMSU and Winona State will meet for the 104th time, with the Mustangs leading the series 69-33-1.
  • Last season, the Southwest Minnesota State volleyball defeated the Warriors in Winona with a sweep by scores of 25-22, 25-23, and 25-16.
  • The Mustangs have defeated the Warriors in two of the last three matches, and have won six of the last ten meetings.
  • SMSU is 31-8-1 all-time against the Warriors on the road.

MORE ABOUT CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
  • Concordia-St. Paul earned a hard-fought win over the weekend, sweeping the Minot State Beavers (2-15, 1-8 NSIC) last Saturday to extend their winning streak to eight at the Gangelhoff Center.
  •  Sophia Anderson and Jasmine Mulvihill lead the Golden Bears with 210 kills apiece, while Katie Mattson follows with 143 kills, and also leads the team with 44 blocks. Emma Schmidt leads the team with 232 digs and adds 134 kills to the offense.
  • Excelling on the CSP front line are Mattson (143 kills, 44 blocks) and Mulvihill (210 kills, 32 blocks). Jamie Guptill follows close behind with 30 blocks of her own.
  • Teagan Starkey has put together an all-around contribution, adding a conference-best 826 assists, capturing 102 digs, 27 blocks, and 19 aces. Schmidt and Ellie Sieling have each produced on the back line, as Schmidt has tallied 232 digs, while Sieling has collected 196 digs and 18 aces.

MORE ABOUT WINONA STATE
  • The Winona State University volleyball team, coming off a 2-1 week last week that included a home sweep of Minot State and UMary, steps out of conference play tonight to travel to Upper Iowa University. 
  • Sidney Paulson leads the Warriors with 212 kills, while Gianna Vollrath follows with 158 kills and adds 32 total blocks. Rylee Vaughn leads the team with 282 digs, including 51 assists and 18 aces.
  • Excelling on the Warriors' front line are Taylor Pagel (111 kills, 61 blocks) and Jayda Berg (93 kills, 33 blocks).
  • Paulson has put together a well-rounded contribution, adding 12 assists, 173 digs, 21 blocks, and nine aces. Jaci Winchell and Kylie Welch have done their part on the back line, as Winchell has tallied 162 digs and 653 assist, while Welch has collected 126 digs and 32 aces.

VANHEEL EARNS NSIC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
  • Southwest Minnesota State University junior middle blocker Emma VanHeel has been named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Week following her performances in SMSU's undefeated three-match home stand last week, including two big four-set wins over No. 6 St. Cloud State and No. 11 Minn. Duluth.
  • VanHeel, a native of Otsego, Minn., dazzled over the week, recording 15 total blocks, including a season-high eight block performance against the No. 11-ranked Bulldogs. She would finish the match with nine kills and a service ace.
  • She also led the way against No. 6 St. Cloud State on Friday, leading a ferocious offensive onslaught with 13 kills to go along with two blocks and three digs.
  • She would end the weekend with 1.33 blocks per set while hitting .250 and recording eight digs. She is the first Mustang to win an NSIC weekly honor since Oct. 25, 2021, when Angela Young earned offensive honors.

MUSTANG MACHINES
  • The Mustangs rank second in the NSIC in service aces per set (1.89), opponent hitting percentage (.139), team attacks per set (37.63) and digs per set (16.85). SMSU ranks third in kills per set (14.07), assists per set (13.06), and win-loss percentage (.875).
  • Freshman outside hitter Leah Jones leads SMSU in hitting at 2.85kills per set, with 154 total kills, followed by junior outside hitter Saari Kuehl with 150 kills, 2.78 per set. Junior Emma VanHeel adds 119 kills, while also leading the team in total blocks with 51.
  • Middle blocker Karli Arkell comes second in Mustang blockers with 49 total blocks, and is eleventh in the NSIC with .91 blocks per set, while adding 131 kills.
  • Senior setter Alisa Bengen ranks fifth in the league with 10.74 assists per set while sophomore libero McKenzie Tolk ranks fourth in digs per set (4.80) and is eleventh in service aces with 21 this season.

LAST TIME OUT
  • The No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team shined in its three-match home stand last week with commanding four-set wins over Augustana, then-No. 6 St. Cloud State, and then-No. 11 Minn. Duluth.
  • SMSU backed the win over Augustana with four players scoring over eight kills. Both offenses were on fire, with Augustana recording 52 kills and SMSU recording 56.
  • Saari Kuehl recorded a season-high 18 kills in the match, recording only one error on 46 total attack attempts. Kuehl added one dig and one assist in the win. Ashley Peltier, who started all six sets for the Mustangs two weekends ago, notched 12 of her own kills, tallying five errors on 33 attempts (21 percent). 
  • Emma VanHeel and Leah Jones each recorded eight kills in their efforts, with VanHeel adding five digs and four total blocks. Jones dished out two assists and posted two block assists in the win.
  • Against SCSU, the Mustangs were led offensively by a trio of power-hitters. VanHeel led the squad in kills, tallying 13 with only one attacking error on 23 total attempts (.522). Karli Arkell and Jones each recorded 12 kills, with Arkell hitting around 41 percent, and Jones hitting 20 percent. Jones also added seven digs on defense. The rest of the team combined for 14 kills from four players.
  • SMSU was anchored defensively in the match by Alisa Bengen and McKenzie Tolk. The duo combined for 21 digs Friday, with Bengen dishing out 40 assists and securing two total blocks. Tolk spaced the floor for the Mustangs, adding three assists to the team total.
  • A duo of outside-hitters led the Mustangs offensively on Saturday. Jones and Arkell led the squad in kills with 11 apiece. VanHeel added nine kills on 15 percent hitting, while grabbing five total blocks on the front line. Bengen and Peltier each recorded six kills, with Bengen hitting around 42 percent.
  • Bengen and Tolk anchored SMSU defensively in the match. Tolk captured a team-high 20 digs in her effort, the most in the match by a player, and dished out six assists offensively. Bengen recorded 10 digs and notched a squad-high 31 assists.
  • Following the AVCA poll released on Oct. 9, the Mustangs have moved up to the No. 7 spot, and have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 221 of the last 222 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.

SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS  
  • The Mustangs currently hold numerous team and individual placements amongst the NCAA statistical leaderboards.
  • SMSU currently ranks tenth in the nation in kills per set with 14.07, and eleventh in assists per set with 13.06
  • Additionally, the Mustangs rank in the Top 30 in other statistical categories.
  • SMSU is No. 28 in opponent-hitting percentage and No. 14 in win/loss percentage, sitting at .139 and .875, respectively.
  • Alisa Bengen currently ranks No. 15 in the nation in assists per set, with 10.74, while coming in at No. 46 in total assists with 580.
  • McKenzie Tolk ranks 42nd in digs per set with 4.80.

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  
  • Tyler Boddy is in his second season as head coach after being named to the position on Dec. 17, 2021, with a career record of 37-8 overall and 22-6 in the NSIC.
  • 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 274-77 during his tenure which includes two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season titles and two NSIC tournament championships.
  • 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.

HISTORY BOOKS
  • Following a career-high 1,154 assist season in 2022, SMSU senior setter, Alisa Bengen currently ranks 8th all-time in assists in program history with 2,975 and aims to climb the rankings as the season progresses.
  • Bengen has started all 54 sets for the Mustangs this season, racking up 580 assists her in effort, and set a season-high 52 assists for SMSU on Sept. 23, in the loss to No. 1 Wayne State.
  • Additionally, Bengen has 58 kills on 143 attempts for a .343 hitting percentage, while coming in second in digs for the squad, with 167. The senior setter has made her defensive presence known at the net, tallying 20 total blocks for the Mustangs front line.

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS  
  • The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team, after going undefeated last week in three matches at home, has moved up to No. 7 in the sixth regular season American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/ TARAFLEX Top 25 Division II poll.
  • SMSU is one of five NSIC schools ranked in this week's Top 25 with Wayne State remaining at the No. 1 spot, followed by Concordia-St. Paul at No. 2, St. Cloud State, after being ranked sixth last week, is now No. 8, and Minnesota Duluth, which was No. 11 last week, has dropped to No. 12

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL PREVIEW
  • 2023 Record: 17-1, 8-1
  • Head Coach: Brady Starkey, 21st season
  • Overall NSIC Coaching Record: 605-81
  • Mascot: Golden Bears
Concordia-St. Paul Notes
  • Concordia-St. Paul has been ranked second in the nation for the last three AVCA polls.
  • Teagan Starkey's 13.32 assists per set rank first in the country as she has guided the offense to a nation-leading 15.39 kills per set and a second-best .299 hitting percentage through 18 matches. The Golden Bears also have two of the top seven in kills per set in the NSIC as Sophia Andersen ranks second (3.89) and Jasmine Mulvihill ranks seventh (3.56). Andersen and Mulvihill also rank fourth (4.16) and fifth (4.10), respectively, in points per set.

WINONA STATE PREVIEW
  • 2023 Record: 13-4, 6-3
  • Head Coach: Joe Getzin, 10th season
  • Overall NSIC Coaching Record: 161-75
  • Mascot: Warriors
Winona State Notes
  • Winona State has been receiving votes for entry into the AVCA/TARAFLEX Top 25 poll, but has yet to be ranked.
  • Sidney Paulson leads the Warriors with 212 kills, while Gianna Vollrath follows with 158 kills and adds 32 total blocks. Rylee Vaughn leads the team with 282 digs, including 51 assists and 18 aces.

ON THE HORIZON
  • SMSU hosts the University of Sioux Falls on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m.
  • The Mustangs then head north for matches against Bemidji State on Friday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m., and Minnesota Crookston on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Karli Arkell

#21 Karli Arkell

MB/RS
6' 3"
Sophomore
Saari Kuehl

#5 Saari Kuehl

OH
6' 0"
Junior
Ashley Peltier

#23 Ashley Peltier

MB/RS
5' 11"
Redshirt Freshman
McKenzie Tolk

#11 McKenzie Tolk

L/DS
5' 5"
Sophomore
Emma VanHeel

#8 Emma VanHeel

MB
6' 0"
Junior
Alisa Bengen

#6 Alisa Bengen

S
5' 9"
Senior
Leah Jones

#10 Leah Jones

OH
6' 2"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Karli Arkell

#21 Karli Arkell

6' 3"
Sophomore
MB/RS
Saari Kuehl

#5 Saari Kuehl

6' 0"
Junior
OH
Ashley Peltier

#23 Ashley Peltier

5' 11"
Redshirt Freshman
MB/RS
McKenzie Tolk

#11 McKenzie Tolk

5' 5"
Sophomore
L/DS
Emma VanHeel

#8 Emma VanHeel

6' 0"
Junior
MB
Alisa Bengen

#6 Alisa Bengen

5' 9"
Senior
S
Leah Jones

#10 Leah Jones

6' 2"
Freshman
OH