THIS WEEK

• The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (19-3, 10-2 NSIC) is back at home for its annual "Red Out" match on Friday, Oct. 27, against Northern State (16-5, 8-4 NSIC) in the SMSU PE Gym, at 6 p.m.
• SMSU then hosts MSU Moorhead (7-14, 3-9 NSIC) on Saturday, Oct. 28, 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 74th meeting between the SMSU and NSU, with the Mustangs leading the overall series 62-11.
• Their first meeting came in 1978, and their most recent meeting came in October of 2022, which resulted in a sweep home victory for the Mustangs.
• SMSU has won eight of the last ten meetings, with Northerns latest win coming on Oct. 2, 2021, when they beat the Mustangs in five sets at home.
• SMSU is 27-2 all-time at home against the Wolves.
• SMSU and MSU Moorhead will meet for the 114th time, with the Mustangs leading the overall series 67-46.
• Last season, the Mustangs defeated the Dragons in Marshall with a sweep by scores of 25-15, 27-25, and 25-10.
• The Mustangs have defeated MSUM in the previous 22 matches, suffering their last loss to the Dragons on Sept. 9, 2006.
• SMSU is 26-17 all-time against the Dragons at home.

MORE ABOUT NORTHERN STATE

• The Wolves head into the final three weeks of the regular season with a 16-5 record overall and 8-4 mark in the Northern Sun
• NSU is hitting .219 as a team, averaging 12.7 kills, 11.8 assists, 17.5 digs, 2.3 blocks, and 1.7 aces per set
• Natalia Szybinska leads the offense with 222 total kills, averaging 3.04 per set, while Abby Brooks is hitting a team leading .348
• Hanna Thompson and Morissen Samuels follow, adding 209 and 201 kills respectively
• Keri Walker surpassed the 3,000 assist mark last week and leads the offense with 808 total assists, averaging 10.49 per set
• Walker and Reese Johnson each have a team leading 34 aces in 2023
• Abby Meister leads the Wolves and the NSIC with 441 total digs, averaging 5.80 digs per set
• Brooks is the team leader at the net with 76.0 total blocks, averaging just under one per set 

MORE ABOUT MSU MOORHEAD

• MSUM is coming off a pair of home losses at the hands of Sioux Falls and top-ranked Wayne State last weekend.
• The Cougars took home a straight sets win on Friday night before the Wildcats swept the Dragons on Saturday afternoon. MSUM is led offensively by Bridget Witzmann, who has tallied 250 kills so far this season to move her career total to 905 kills.
• Abby Thompson hits for a team-best .317 percentage while Emily Skalicky drives the Dragon offense forward with 338 set assists so far this season.
• Tori Thompson and Jadyn Feist lead MSUM with 40 total blocks this season with Feist tallying 27 block assists.

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 in the sixth week of the regular season, 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

• SMSU ranks second in the NSIC in opponent hitting percentage (.158). The Mustangs rank third in the NSIC in service aces per set (1.82), assists per set (13.00), team kills per set (14.01) and digs per set (17.04). SMSU leads the league in attacks per set (38.00), and ranks third in win-loss percentage (.864).
• Freshman outside hitter Leah Jones leads SMSU in hitting at 3.11 kills per set, with 236 total kills, followed by junior outside hitter Saari Kuehl with 203 kills, 2.78 per set. Junior Emma VanHeel adds 159 kills, while also leading the team in total blocks with 69.
• Middle blocker Karli Arkell comes second in Mustang blockers with 67 total blocks, and is eleventh in the NSIC with .92 blocks per set, while adding 164 kills.
• Senior setter Alisa Bengen ranks fourth in the league with 10.64 assists per set while sophomore libero McKenzie Tolk ranks fourth in digs per set (4.75) with 361 total digs.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team closed out its non-conference schedule this evening with a 3-1 victory over the Augustana University Vikings, winning by scores of 25-20, 17-25, 25-12, 25-21.
• As a result, SMSU improves to 19-3 overall, remaining 10-2 in the NSIC, while AU drops to 8-13 overall, and stays 5-7 in the conference. With the win, SMSU has swept the season series against the Vikings.
• Two SMSU attackers recorded double digit kills in the win. Leah Jones led all Mustang attackers with 13 kills on .220 hitting (13-4-41), while adding a team-second 13 digs, and two block assists in her effort. Saari Kuehl shined again in the win, picking up 11 kills on .194 hitting (11-4-36). Jones dished out two assists in addition. Emma VanHeel found her rhythm this evening, hitting 7 kills with only two errors for .238 hitting.
• Alisa Bengen had another impressive performance this afternoon. Bengen dished out 36 assists and tallied five kills on offense. Additionally, Bengen recorded 13 digs on the back line for the Mustangs.
• McKenzie Tolk anchored the SMSU back line, snagging 16 digs and one service ace, while adding two assists on offense. Emily Strasser assisted on the back line, pitching 10 digs and one assist. Emma VanHeel would post a team-high five total blocks in the contest, followed by Brooklyn Kusler with three, and Karli Arkell and Leah Jones with two apiece.
• SMSU recorded eight service aces in the match in comparison to just three posted by Augie. Augustana controlled all other box score statistics, tallying 50 assists to SMSUs 41, 86 digs to 69 by SMSU, and out-killed the Mustangs 55-46.

SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS 

• The Mustangs currently hold numerous team and individual placements amongst the NCAA statistical leaderboards.
• SMSU currently ranks fourteenth in the nation in kills per set with 14.01 and assists per set with 13.00
• Additionally, the Mustangs rank in the Top 25 in other statistical categories.
• SMSU is No. 29 in hitting percentage and No. 16 in win/loss percentage, sitting at .249 and .864, respectively.
• Alisa Bengen currently ranks No. 18 in the nation in assists per set, with 10.64, while coming in at No. 32 in total assists with 809.
• McKenzie Tolk ranks No. 50 in digs per set with 4.75. 

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 41-9 overall and 27-7 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 87 kills on 211 attempts for a .360 hitting percentage, while coming in second in digs for the squad, with 236. The senior setter has made her defensive presence known at the net, tallying 29 total blocks for the Mustangs front line.

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS 

• The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team, after going 3-0 last week on the road, has climbed to No. 6 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, which was No. 2, is now at No. 4, St. Cloud State, which was No. 13 last week, has moved up to No. 9, and Minn. Duluth, after being ranked tenth last week, has dropped four spots to No. 14

NORTHERN STATE PREVIEW

• 2023 Record: 16-5, 8-4
• Head Coach: Brent Aldridge, 13th season
• Overall NSIC Coaching Record: 240-104
• Mascot: Wolves

Northern State Notes

• The Wolves head into the final three weeks of the regular season with a 16-5 record overall and 8-4 mark in the Northern Sun
• NSU is hitting .219 as a team, averaging 12.7 kills, 11.8 assists, 17.5 digs, 2.3 blocks, and 1.7 aces per set
• Natalia Szybinska leads the offense with 222 total kills, averaging 3.04 per set, while Abby Brooks is hitting a team leading .348

MSU MOORHEAD PREVIEW

• 2023 Record: 7-14, 3-9
• Head Coach: Kari Thompson, 1st season
• Overall NSIC Coaching Record: 3-9
• Mascot: Dragons

MSU Moorhead Notes

• MSUM is coming off a pair of home losses at the hands of Sioux Falls and top-ranked Wayne State last weekend.
• The Cougars took home a straight sets win on Friday night before the Wildcats swept the Dragons on Saturday afternoon. MSUM is led offensively by Bridget Witzmann, who has tallied 250 kills so far this season to move her career total to 905 kills.

ON THE HORIZON

• SMSU travels to Wayne, Neb., for a match against the Wayne State Wildcats on Tuesday, Oct. 31, with first serve at 6 p.m.
• The Mustangs then head back North for a match against Minnesota Duluth on Thursday, Nov. 2. First serve against the Bulldogs is set for 6 p.m.