THIS WEEK
- The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (22-4, 13-3 NSIC) returns home for the final two matches of the regular season.
- SMSU first welcomes Winona State on Friday, Nov. 10, in a regular season rematch in the SMSU PE Gym at 7 p.m.
- The Mustangs then host Concordia-St. Paul in another regular season rematch at 3 p.m. on Nov. 11.Â
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
- Tomorrow will be the 105th meeting between SMSU and WSU, with the Mustangs holding the series advantage 70-33-1.
- Their first meeting came in 1974, and their most recent meeting was Oct. 14, which resulted in a road sweep in favor of SMSU.
- SMSU has won six of the last ten meetings, with SMSU winning the previous match held in Marshall by a score of 3-0.
- SMSU is 28-13 all-time at home against the Warriors.
- SMSU and CSP will meet for the 71st time, with the Golden Bears leading the overall series 28-42.
- The Mustangs suffered defeat against then-No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul in four sets on Oct. 12, with the Golden Bears winning by scores of 25-18, 21-25, 25-17, 25-22.
- The Golden Bears have defeated SMSU in four of the last five matches, with the latest SMSU win coming on Oct. 23, 2021.
- SMSU is 11-14 all-time against the Golden Bears in Marshall.
MORE ABOUT WINONA STATE
- The Winona State University volleyball team claimed an important - and impressive - home court win over Northern State University on Saturday, Nov. 4 in McCown Gymnasium
- Sidney Paulson racked up a monumental night, notching 17 kills en route to the victory on the final home regular season contest of the season. WSU seniors Rylee Vaughn added 22 digs and Taylor Pagel had a pair of blocks and seven kills to highlight the evening.
- Senior Rylee Vaughn earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Defensive Player of the Week following an outstanding weekend in which she helped lead Winona State to a pair of key victories in league play.Â
- Vaughn finished the weekend tied for an NSIC best 5.88 digs per set. The Oconomowoc, Wis. product racked up 47 total digs over two matches.Â
- Winona State is ranked ninth in the second NCAA Volleyball Regional Rankings released this afternoon.
MORE ABOUT CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
- Last weekend, CSP closed out an undefeated regular season home slate with sweeps of NSU and MSUM to move to 10-0 on their home court.
- On Friday, it was a dominant offensive effort for the home squad as CSP tallied 47 kills and just six errors on 86 attempts to finish with an efficient .477 hitting percentage. Three different Golden Bears reached double figures in kills in the win as Jasmine Mulvihill led the way with 12 kills while Sophia Andersen and Emma Schmidt had 10 apiece. Mulvihill hit .474 while adding seven digs and a pair of blocks on the night. Andersen and Schmidt finished with nearly identical lines as Andersen went 10-0-20 with five digs, two aces and a .500 hitting percentage while Schmidt went 10-0-21 with seven digs, two aces and a .476 hitting percentage.
- On Saturday, CSP extended their streak to four straight matches over .425 hitting as they collected a staggering 58 kills (19.33 per set) over three sets of action. It matched their third highest kill total in three sets in the 25-point scoring format as they put up their largest total since tallying 60 at MSUM on Sept. 29, 2018. Teagan Starkey's 51 assists (17.00 per set) fell just one shy of the three-set record in the 25-point format, trailing only Elizabeth Mohr's 52 assists in the 2018 road victory at MSUM.
- Teagan Starkey earned her sixth NSIC Setter of the Week selection as she averaged 12.60 assists per set while guiding the offense to .489 hitting percentage in the two wins.
- Concordia-St. Paul is ranked No. 2 in the second NCAA Volleyball Regional Rankings released this afternoon.
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 third in the NSIC in opponent hitting percentage (.162). The Mustangs rank fifth in the NSIC in service aces per set (1.72), third in assists per set (13.04), team kills per set (13.99) and digs per set (17.08). SMSU leads the league in attacks per set (38.27), and ranks third in win-loss percentage (.846).
- Freshman outside hitter Leah Jones leads SMSU in hitting at 3.20 kills per set, with 288 total kills, followed by junior outside hitter Saari Kuehl with 246 kills, 2.83 per set. Junior blocker Emma VanHeel adds 191 kills, while also leading the team in total blocks with 83.
- Middle blocker Karli Arkell comes second in Mustang blockers with 76 total blocks, while adding 184 kills.
- Senior setter Alisa Bengen ranks fifth in the league with 10.62 assists per set while sophomore libero McKenzie Tolk ranks fourth in digs per set (4.81) with 433 total digs.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team displayed its true resilience last Thursday evening, winning three-straight sets after going down 2-0 to reverse sweep the No. 14 Minn. Duluth Bulldogs by scores of 22-25, 15-25, 25-21, 26-24, and 23-21.
- Saari Kuehl led the Mustang attacking crew that evening, posting 14 kills in the win. Emma VanHeel and Leah Jones each tallied 12 kills in their efforts, hitting .114 and .146, respectively. Rounding out the attack was Brooklyn Kusler, who tallied 11 kills on .237 hitting.Â
- Alisa Bengen did what she does best, posting 45 assists in the setter role, while tallying five kills, 19 digs, and three blocks in other areas. Bengen grabbed two service aces in the match, tying two other Mustangs for a team high.
- McKenzie Tolk anchored SMSU defensively, bumping 24 digs and grabbing two service aces on the back line. Tolk secured a season-high two kills and dished four assists in the win. Natalee Rolbiecki accommodated Tolk on the back line, bumping 18 digs and setting two assists.
- The Mustangs posted eight blocks on the line with VanHeel securing a team-high three total. Brooklyn Kusler and Karli Arkell posted two blocks apiece.
SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKSÂ Â
- The Mustangs currently hold numerous team and individual placements amongst the NCAA statistical leaderboards.
- SMSU currently ranks No. 14 in the nation in kills per set with 13.99 and No. 21 in win-loss percentage with .846
- Additionally, the Mustangs rank in the Top 25 in other statistical categories.
- SMSU is No. 13 in assists per set with 13.04 and No. 17 in attacks per set with 38.27.
- Alisa Bengen currently ranks No. 21 in the nation in assists per set, with 10.62, while coming in at No. 33 in total assists with 956.
- McKenzie Tolk ranks No. 44 in digs per set with 4.81.
SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLSÂ Â
- The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team, after going 1-1 last week on the road, has remained at No. 6 in the tenth 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. 4, St. Cloud State at No. 9, and Minnesota Duluth, which has remained at No. 14.
- Following the AVCA poll released on Nov. 6, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 225 of the last 226 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.
SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE REGIONAL RANKINGSÂ Â
- The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team is ranked No. 3 in the second NCAA Division II Central Region rankings released on Nov. 8 by the NCAA national committee.
- SMSU is one of seven NSIC schools to appear in the region rankings along with Wayne State (No. 1), Concordia-St. Paul (No. 2), Minnesota Duluth (No. 7), St. Cloud State (No. 8), Winona State (No. 9) and Northern State (No. 10).
HEAD COACH TYLER BODDYÂ Â
- 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 45-10 overall and 31-8 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 6th all-time in assists in program history with 3,351 and seventh in assists per set with 9.18.
- Bengen has started all 90 sets for the Mustangs this season, racking up 956 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 98 kills on 254 attempts for a .319 hitting percentage, while coming in second in digs for the squad with 282. The senior setter has made her defensive presence known at the net, tallying 35 total blocks for the Mustangs front line.
ON THE HORIZON
- SMSU returns home on Tuesday, Nov. 14, hosting the first round of the NSIC Tournament.
- SMSU is regionally ranked at No. 3 in the NCAA Central Division. The NCAA Division II Volleyball Selection Show is scheduled for Monday Nov. 20, at 6:30 p.m.
