THIS WEEK

• Southwest Minnesota State (15-3, 8-2 NSIC) hosts the University of Sioux Falls (8-10, 4-6 NSIC) tomorrow, Oct. 17, for a non-conference match-up at 6 p.m.
• The Mustangs then return to conference play up north with matches at Bemidji State (8-10, 5-5 NSIC) on Friday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m., and Minnesota Crookston (3-15, 1-9 NSIC) on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.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.
• Listen to the match against USF on the radio on 105.1 FM KARL or on marshallradio.net

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Tomorrow will be the 23rd meeting between the SMSU and USF, with the Mustangs leading the overall series 18-4.
• Their first meeting came in 1981, and their most recent meeting came on Sept. 16, which resulted in a sweep road victory for SMSU by scores of 25-18, 25-23, 25-20.
• The Mustangs have won seven of the last ten meetings and have only lost one match to the Cougars in Marshall, back in 2013.
• SMSU is 9-1 all-time on at home against USF.

 
MORE ABOUT SIOUX FALLS

• The USF Volleyball team defeated Augustana last Saturday by a score of 3-1 behind a career night by Jordan Kuper.
• USF dropped set one 26-24 but landed 16 kills on 38 attempts against the Vikings. The two continued to battle throughout the second set, but USF came out victorious with a 26-24 set win.
• The Cougars attack game was lights out through the third and fourth sets as they defeated Augie 25-15 in set three and 25-11 in set four while outscoring them 50-26 in the final two sets.
• Jordan Kuper led the team with a career high 20 kills on the night along with two solo blocks and three assisted resulting in 23.5 points throughout the match. Kuper maintained a .457 attacking percentage tonight followed by a .476 night she had earlier this week against Mankato.
• Freshman Kyleigh Tangen also followed suit with a career high 13 kills and 14.5 points on the night.
• Sadie Voss had her sixth double-double of the season tonight with 10 kills and 12 digs all while Elise Gillen dished out 46 assists with a career season high 14 digs.
• Despite dropping the first set, USF continued to keep their foot on the gas while landing 62 kills on the night compared to Augies 42.

 
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.

 
LAST TIME OUT

• The No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (15-3, 8-2 NSIC) tallied another mark in the win column after sweeping Winona State University (14-5, 6-4 NSIC) on Saturday by set scores of 25-21, 25-21, and 25-22.
• Leading the way for the Mustangs offense was freshman Leah Jones. Jones hit an impressive 34 percent on a team-high 14 kills with no errors, while adding 12 digs on the back line. Supporting the attack in an eventful return was junior Brooklyn Kusler, who smashed 12 kills on 28 attempts for a .393 hitting percentage. Junior Emma VanHeel rounded out the top Mustang attackers with eight kills on .467 hitting, posting only one error on 15 attempts.
• Floating around the court on defense was McKenzie Tolk. Tolk captured a team-high 17 digs and set one assist with one service ace in the match. Her defensive counterparts were Natalee Rolbiecki and Emily Strasser, notching 15 and 12 digs, respectively.
• Alisa Bengen paced the SMSU offense with 38 assists, while grabbing herself three kills with no errors on four attempts, good enough for .750 hitting. Bengen added seven digs on defense. Top blockers for SMSU were Brooklyn Kusler and Ashley Peltier. The duo recorded a combined nine blocks in the match.
• Following the AVCA poll released on Oct. 9, the Mustangs have remained at the No. 7 spot, and have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 222 of the last 223 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.

 
SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS

• The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team, after posting a 1-1 record last week, has stayed at No. 7 in the seventh regular season American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/ TARAFLEX Top 25 Division II poll released on Monday afternoon.
• SMSU, ranked No. 11 in the first two regular season polls and No. 7 last week, is 15-3 overall, and 8-2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Mustangs began last week with a 3-1 loss to No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul, then shined in a sweep over Winona State on Saturday afternoon.
• 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, Minn. Duluth, which was No. 12 last week, has moved up to No. 10, and St. Cloud State, after being ranked eighth last week, has dropped five spots to No. 13

 
SIOUX FALLS PREVIEW

• 2023 Record: 8-10, 4-6
• Head Coach: Dan Mathews, 3rd season
• Mascot: Cougars

Sioux Falls Notes

• The Cougars went 2-0 last weekend, beating Minnesota State in a sweep by scores of 25-11, 25-23, 25-23 on Friday, Oct. 13.
• up a career-high 20 kills in the win over Augustana last weekend. Jordan was named to the NSIC All-Conference 2nd Team, named to the NSIC Fall All-Academic Team of Excellence, and was named a D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award Recipient in the 2022 season.

 
UP NEXT
The Mustangs return to conference play up north with matches at Bemidji State (8-10, 5-5 NSIC) on Friday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m., and Minnesota Crookston (3-15, 1-9 NSIC) on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.m.