THIS WEEK

• The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (16-3, 8-2 NSIC) is back on the road Friday, Oct. 18, for a match against Bemidji State (8-10, 4-6 NSIC) in the BSU Gymnasium, at 6 p.m.
• SMSU then travels to Crookston, Minn., for a match with the Golden Eagles 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.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Friday will be the 100th meeting between the SMSU and BSU, with the Mustangs leading the overall series 69-30.
• Their first meeting came in 1977, and their most recent meeting came in September of 2022, which resulted in a sweep road victory for the Mustangs.
• SMSU has not lost a contest to the Beavers since Sept. 30, 2003, winning all previous 30 meetings.
• SMSU is 21-15 all-time on the road against Bemidji State.
• SMSU and Minnesota Crookston will meet for the 39th time, with the Mustangs leading the overall series 37-1.
• Last season, the Mustangs defeated the Golden Eagles in Crookston with a sweep by scores of 25-14, 25-15, and 25-11.
• The Mustangs have defeated UMC in the last 29 matches, suffering their only loss to the Golden Eagles on Oct. 1, 2003.
• SMSU is 18-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles on the road.

MORE ABOUT BEMIDJI STATE

• Playing inspired out of the gate, the Bemidji State University Volleyball team kept the intensity up throughout as they took down No. 8 St. Cloud State 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-18, 28-26) last Saturday inside the BSU Gym.
• The win over a nationally ranked team is the first for the Beavers since defeating then No. 8 Wayne State College in Bemidji in four sets during the 2019 season.
• A trio of power-hitters lead the Beavers offensively this season. Ashley Crowl leads BSU in hitting with 187 kills, 2.71 per set, and adds 34 service aces and 152 digs on the back line.
• Excelling on the BSU front line are Rylie Bjerklie (166 kills, 39 blocks) and Lilly Bandle (44 kills, 32 blocks). Zayda Priebe and Lauren Sitter follow close behind with 29 and 28 blocks, respectively.
• Bemidji native Emily Wade has excelled in the setter role for the Beavers notching 584 assists, with Hally Holker adding 93 of her own. Wade has 34 kills on 88 attempts for a .352 percentage.

 
MORE ABOUT MINNESOTA CROOKSTON

• Madison Carsten might be one of the more consistent players for the Golden Eagles this season. Carsten was a player that the coaching staff was really excited about heading into 2023, but she has exceeded expectations and has been outstanding.
• Carsten is on pace to be the third freshman in five years to lead the Golden Eagles in kills, joining Porsha Porath in 2019 and Audrey Cariveau last year. Carsten has six matches with 10 or more kills this season
• Last Thursday against Bemidji State, Emma Malek played her best match of her young career. The freshman and lone Golden Eagle from Illinois finished with seven kills, tying a career-high as she finished with seven kills against UMary. Malek hit .375 and also added a dig as well.
• Minnesota Crookston has 108 service errors this season, as do their opponents. The Golden Eagles have 1.33 service aces per set, while their opponents have about 1.68 service aces per set.

 
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 3.05 kills per set, with 198 total kills, followed by junior outside hitter Saari Kuehl with 179 kills, 2.75 per set. Junior Emma VanHeel adds 142 kills, while also leading the team in total blocks with 61.
• Middle blocker Karli Arkell comes second in Mustang blockers with 56 total blocks, and is twelveth in the NSIC with .90 blocks per set, while adding 144 kills.
• Senior setter Alisa Bengen ranks fifth in the league with 10.72 assists per set while sophomore libero McKenzie Tolk ranks fourth in digs per set (4.74) with 308 total digs.

LAST TIME OUT

• The No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team won three-straight sets on Tuesday evening to take down Sioux Falls in a non-conference match-up 3-1, by scores of 18-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-21.
• A trio of power-hitters who smashed more than 10 kills apiece led the Mustangs offensively. Leah Jones topped the team totals with 14 kills on .293 (14-2-41) hitting. Jones added one block and nine digs in her performance, while grabbing a team-high two service aces in the win. Saari Kuehl hit for 29 percent on 13 kills with only three errors. Kuehl notched three assists and three total blocks in her effort elsewhere.
• Brooklyn Kusler rounded out the top Mustang attackers with 11 kills. Kusler hit 45 percent in the match, tallying just two errors on 20 total attempts, and added three block assists to the block party.
• Alisa Bengen, who reached 3,000 career assists last Thursday, put up 41 assists in her effort and captured eight digs and two block assists on the back line. Bengen smashed nine kills in addition to her passing, hitting 43 percent on 21 attempts.
• Following the AVCA poll released on Oct. 16, 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 IN THE NATIONAL RANKS 

• The Mustangs currently hold numerous team and individual placements amongst the NCAA statistical leaderboards.
• SMSU currently ranks eleventh in the nation in kills per set with 14.11, and twelfth in assists per set with 13.06
• Additionally, the Mustangs rank in the Top 30 in other statistical categories.
• SMSU is No. 27 in hitting percentage and No. 20 in win/loss percentage, sitting at .246 and .842, respectively.
• Alisa Bengen currently ranks No. 15 in the nation in assists per set, with 10.72, while coming in at No. 42 in total assists with 697.
• McKenzie Tolk ranks No. 47 in digs per set with 4.74.

 
 
 
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 38-9 overall and 24-7 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 3,051 and aims to climb the rankings as the season progresses.
• Bengen has started all 65 sets for the Mustangs this season, racking up 697 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 74 kills on 176 attempts for a .369 hitting percentage, while coming in second in digs for the squad, with 195. The senior setter has made her defensive presence known at the net, tallying 24 total blocks for the Mustangs front line.

 
SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS 

• The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team, after going 1-1 last week on the road, has remained at No. 7 in the seventh 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, 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

 
BEMIDJI STATE PREVIEW

• 2023 Record: 8-10, 5-5
• Head Coach: Kevin Ulmer, 8th season
• Mascot: Beavers

Bemidji State Notes

• Playing inspired out of the gate, the Bemidji State University Volleyball team kept the intensity up throughout as they took down No. 8 St. Cloud State 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-18, 28-26) last Saturday inside the BSU Gym.
• The win over a nationally ranked team is the first for the Beavers since defeating then No. 8 Wayne State College in Bemidji in four sets during the 2019 season.

 
MINNESOTA CROOKSTON PREVIEW

• 2023 Record: 3-15, 1-9
• Head Coach: Nick Meseck, 2nd season
• Overall NSIC Coaching Record: 7-32
• Mascot: Golden Eagles

Minn. Crookston Notes

• Madison Carsten might be one of the more consistent players for the Golden Eagles this season. Carsten was a player that the coaching staff was really excited about heading into 2023, but she has exceeded expectations and has been outstanding.
• Carsten is on pace to be the third freshman in five years to lead the Golden Eagles in kills, joining Porsha Porath in 2019 and Audrey Cariveau last year. Carsten has six matches with 10 or more kills this season

 
ON THE HORIZON

• SMSU travels to Augustana for a non-conference match with the Vikings on Tuesday, Oct. 24, with first serve at 6 p.m.
• The Mustangs return home for weekend matches against Northern State (Red Out) and MSU Moorhead.