THIS WEEK

• The No. 11 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team continues its non-conference schedule in Kansas this weekend, competing at the Pittsburg State (Kan.) Classic in Pittsburg, Kan.
• The first two matches will be played on Friday, Sept. 8, starting with Arkansas Fort Smith at 9 a.m. before facing off against Northwestern Oklahoma State at 2 p.m.
• The Mustangs play two additional matches on Saturday, Sept. 9, as they square up against Drury (Mo.) at 9 a.m., and tournament host Pittsburg State (Kan.) at 2 p.m. to round out the road trip.

MATCH COVERAGE

• Live stats and video for all four matches will be available at SMSUmustangs.com
• *PAYMENT NECESSARY FOR VIDEO AT PITTSBURG STATE CLASSIC
• Stay up to date on the Mustangs throughout the weekend by downloading the official SMSU Athletics app on your smartphone.

SERIES HISTORY

• SMSU will meet with Arkansas Fort Smith for the second time in program history.
• The Mustangs bested then-No. 21 UAFS in the only prior meeting in 2015, winning 3-0 with set scores of 25-19, 27-25, and 25-13.
• SMSU will be meeting with Northwestern Oklahoma State for the first time ever.
• Drury and SMSU will meet for the fifth time, with the score between the programs locked at 2-2.
• The first meeting was in 1991 and the last meeting came in 2022 with SMSU sweeping the Panthers in scores of 25-13, 25-19, and 25-22.
• This time around will be the third meeting between SMSU and the host, Pittsburg State. The first meeting was in 1999, and the last was in 2011, with the Mustangs winning both matches to hold the 2-0 series advantage.

LAST WEEK  

• The Mustangs went 3-1 to open the 2023 regular season, splitting matches on Friday, Sept. 1, and sweeping both opponents on Saturday, Sept. 2
• SMSU beat Oklahoma Baptist handedly Friday morning, winning by scores of 25-10, 25-20, and 25-23. The Mustangs hit .348 in the match with a total of 52 kills.
• Unranked Spring Hill proved to be too much for the Mustangs, defeating SMSU 3-1 in the match with scores of 25-22, 28-26, 13-25, and 25-16, while the Badger defense recorded 18 total blocks.
• SMSU began the second day of the invite with a commanding sweep over Wheeling (W. Va.) by scores of 25-21, 25-17, and 25-18, posting a .396 hitting percentage and capturing all nine service aces in the match.
• Co-host and No. 12-ranked West Florida also fell victim to a Mustang sweep, with SMSU winning by scores of 27-25, 25-16, and 25-20. Karli Arkell led the way defensively, posting a match-high six solo blocks in the win.
• The Mustangs have won at least three of their first four matches in every season since 2019.
• Following the 2023 week one poll, the Mustangs remain at No. 11, and have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 216 of the last 217 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.

• Alisa Bengen and Brooklyn Kusler were named to the All-Tournament Team at the Springhill Suites Invitational last weekend.
• Kusler led the Mustangs with 52 kills in four matches, including a career high 16 kills to help defeat Wheeling (W. Va.).
• Additionally, Kusler hit a whopping .410 percentage in the opening weekend, tallying only 11 errors on 100 total attacks. Kusler made an impact on defense as well, adding 10 total blocks to the weekend resume.
• Bengen recorded impressive numbers of her own, recording 156 assists over the weekend, while accommodating the defense with 36 digs.
• Emma VanHeel collected 12 total blocks on the trip, while hitting .302 with 28 kills on 63 attempts.
• Rounding out the impressive performances are two sophomores, Karli Arkell, and McKenzie Tolk, and freshman Leah Jones.
• Arkell stood out defensively for the Mustangs, recording a game-high six solo blocks against then-No. 12 West Florida, and 16 total over the weekend, with 31 kills on an impressive hitting percentage of .403
• Tolk's anchoring on defense proved crucial in the three SMSU wins, notching a team-high 63 digs, with eight assists.
• Jones, a native of Marshall, Minn., brought the energy in her SMSU debut, recording 43 kills, four total blocks, and seven assists. 

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  

• Tyler Boddy is in his second season as head coach after being named to the position on Dec. 17, 2021, and has a career record of 26-7 overall and 15-5 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 2,551.
• Bengen earned All-NSIC second team honors in 2022, as well as Academic All-NSIC and Academic All-District honors.
• Additionally, Bengen appeared in 108 sets in 29 matches with 28 starts, finishing with a team-best 1,154 assists. Furthermore, Bengen averaged 10.69 assists per set, recorded 121 kills, collected 212 digs, had a career-high 62 assists against Missouri Western (9/2), and recorded a season-high 17 digs against Sioux Falls (10/25).

SMSU SELECTED FIFTH IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL

• SMSU was picked to finish fifth in the annual 15-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Concordia-St. Paul was selected as the preseason favorites to win the conference earning 190 points and eight first place votes (coaches can't vote for their own school). The defending NSIC regular season champion, Wayne State, earned 189 points and the remaining seven first place votes to finish in second place. In third place was Minnesota Duluth with 165 points, while the defending tournament champion, St. Cloud State had 154 points. SMSU rounded out the top five earning 142 points.

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS  

• After three wins and a loss in the Springhill Suites Invitational, including a three-set victory against then No. 12-ranked West Florida, the Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team has remained at No. 11 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Poll
• SMSU is one of five NSIC schools ranked in the AVCA Top 25 with Concordia-St. Paul leading the way at the No. 2 spot, and Wayne State and St. Cloud State sitting at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively. Minnesota Duluth is positioned at No. 7, making them the fourth NSIC team in the top-10, while the Mustangs round out the rankings at No. 11. Winona State has 22 votes in the polls, but remains unranked.  

ARKANSAS FORT SMITH PREVIEW

• 2023 Record: 4-0, 0-0
• Conference: LSC
• Head Coach: Jane Sargent, 26th season
• Mascot: Lions
• LSC Preseason Rank: 8

Arkansas Fort Smith Notes

• The Lions reached the LSC tournament a season ago, losing in five sets to Dallas Baptist in the first round. 
• Outside hitter Caelyn Gunn, middle blocker Hannah Watkins and setter Chloe Price were all named to the LSC Preseason Players to Watch list for this upcoming season. Price led the Lions in assists a season ago while Gunn was named to the All-LSC Second Team and All-Freshman Team.

NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE PREVIEW

• 2023 Record: 2-2, 0-0
• Conference: GAC
• Head Coach: Jon Bingesser, 2nd season
• Mascot: Rangers
• GAC Preseason Rank: T7

Northwestern Oklahoma State Notes

• The Rangers ended the season in the GAC Tournament as the fourth seed, losing the tournament championship to Harding University in four sets. 
• The Rangers will be led by head coach Jon Bingesser who enters his second season with Northwestern.

DRURY PREVIEW

• 2023 Record: 0-4, 0-0
• Conference: GLVC
• Head Coach: Jenifer Bahner-Hill, 10th season
• Mascot: Panthers
• GLVC Preseason Rank: 10

Drury Notes

• The Panthers went 13-17 last season, with a conference record of 4-8, failing to make the GLVC tournament.
• Drury's top three in kills all return for the Panthers. Salma Lewis (Jr., Carl Junction) led Drury with 2.95 kills per set, while Stormi Tadlock (Jr., Ozark) at 2.66 kills/set returns, along with Kayli Duncan at 2.48 kills/set (Jr., Wichita, Kan.) Juliana Squire, a fifth-year senior out of Fort Worth, Texas, is also back to anchor Drury's defense. Squire averaged 4.34 digs per set last season.

PITTSBURG STATE PREVIEW

• 2023 Record: 1-3, 0-0
• Conference: MIAA
• Head Coach: Jen Gomez, 8th season
• Mascot: Gorillas
• MIAA Preseason Rank: 1

Pittsburg State Notes

• The Gorillas made it to the MIAA Tournament last season, losing in the semifinals to Nebraska Kearney in four sets.
• PSU volleyball welcomes back nine letter winners from 2022, including six players who started 10 or more matches a year ago. The Gorillas posted a 17-14 overall record in 2022 (10-11 MIAA), advancing to the semifinals of the MIAA Postseason Tournament.

2023 OUTLOOK

• SMSU returns nine letter winners from its 2022 team that finished with a 23-6 overall record. The 2023 team features two seniors, four juniors, four sophomores, three redshirt freshmen and three true freshmen. 
• SMSU senior setter, Alisa Bengen, was named an NSIC 'Player to Watch'. Bengen earned All-NSIC second team in 2022 after a season where she finished with 1,154 assists, averaging 10.69 assists per set, including a career-high 62 assists in the match against Missouri Western.
• Junior middle blocker Emma VanHeel looks to build off a strong sophomore season that saw her named to the All-NSIC second team. VanHeel finished second on the team in points (331), second in blocks (96) and third in kills (252).
• Junior outside hitters, Saari Kuehl and Halle Jansen, return after ranking second and fourth on the team in kills, tallying 293 and 197 respectively.
• Returning sophomores Natalee Rolbiecki, McKenzie Tolk and Karli Arkell will look to continue their strong defensive play from their freshmen campaign, as Rolbiecki and Tolk were top two on the team in digs and Arkell led the Mustangs in blocks. 

ON THE HORIZON

• SMSU will host Minnesota State in its first conference match and home opener on Thursday, Sept. 14. Match time is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the SMSU PE Gym.
• The Mustangs will travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. that same weekend for another NSIC matchup against the USF Cougars in the Stewart Center at 2 p.m