THIS WEEKEND
• The No. 7 SMSU volleyball wraps up its home stand this weekend with a pair of matches against Winona State (12-8, 5-4 NSIC) and No. 12 Concordia-St. Paul (13-4, 8-1 NSIC).
• The Mustangs match up against the Warriors for its annual "Red Out" on Friday, Oct. 18, with first serve slated for 6 p.m.
• SMSU faces off with the Golden Bears on Saturday, Oct. 19, with match time set for 4 p.m.

MATCH COVERAGE
• Live stats and video for all matches will be available at SMSUmustangs.com
• Both matches will be broadcast on Marshall Radio. Friday's match versus WSU will air on KARL 105.1 FM, while the Saturday match against CSP will be on KKCK 94.7 FM with Anthony Rohlik on the call both days.
• Stay up to date on the Mustangs throughout the weekend by downloading the official SMSU Athletics app.

SERIES HISTORY
• Friday will be the 106th meeting between SMSU and WSU, with the Mustangs leading the series 71-33-1.
• The Mustangs defeated the Warriors twice a season ago, sweeping WSU in both matches.
• Seven of the last 10 meetings have went the way of the Mustangs.
• SMSU is 29-13 all-time at home against WSU.
• SMSU and CSP will meet for the 72nd time, with the Golden Bears leading the series 28-43.
• The Mustangs suffered a pair of losses in the series last season.
• SMSU is 11-15 all-time at home against Concordia-St. Paul.

MORE ON WINONA STATE
• Winona State is 12-8 on the season and last played on Oct. 12 earning a 3-1 win over then-No. 21 Northern State at home. The Warriors are 5-3 on the road this season.
• Sidney Paulson leads the Warriors offense with 3.00 kills per set and a team-high 228 kills, and adds 28 blocks and 211 digs on defense.
• Kenna Kornely follows behind with 156 kills, while Lydia Lange is third with 147 kills.
• Kylie Welch leads the team on the back line with 390 digs while supporting the offense with 85 assists and 21 service aces.
• Jaci Winchell leads WSU with 419 assists while supporting the attack with 18 kills and 18 service aces.
• WSU is averaging 12.7 kills per set on 18.8 percent hitting while opponents average 11.9 kills on 19.7 percent hitting.

MORE ON CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
• CSP last played on Oct. 12 earning a 3-0 win on the road against MSU Moorhead. The Golden Bears are 4-2 on the road this season. 
• Sophia Anderson leads Concordia-St. Paul with 182 kills and comes in fourth on the team with 21 blocks.
• Makenna Nold and Mehlayna Straub follow with 155 kills apiece, with Nold adding 48 blocks and 21 service aces.
• Cassie Sieling offers a bit of everything on the floor, leading the Golden Bears with 267 digs and 23 service aves, while contributing offensively with 128 kills and 35 assists.
• The reigning NSIC Setter of the Week, Teagan Starkey, supports the CSP attack with 786 assists. Starkey adds 131 digs, 20 blocks, and 14 service aces.
• CSP is averaging 14.6 kills per set on 26.0 percent hitting while opponents average 10.7 kills per set on 16.5 percent hitting.

LAST TIME OUT
• The No. 7 Mustangs limited the Marauders to 35 kills in a sweep over UMary in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball at the SMSU PE Gym on Friday night. 
• Saari Kuehl led the Mustangs offense with a match-high 17 kills on a whopping .593 hitting percentage while adding a block assists and three digs. Emma VanHeel tallied 11 kills on .524 hitting and added a team-high five blocks.  
• Sydney Thein supported the attack by recording 41 assists and six digs. 
• McKenzie Tolk anchored the back line with 14 digs, followed by Kennedy Drake securing eight digs. 
• SMSU posted 50 kills on a season-high .396 hitting percentage with seven total blocks, while UMary was limited to 35 kills on .211 hitting.  
• The Mustangs posted a .386 hitting percentage with 48 kills to earn a 25-11, 25-17, 25-8 win over Minot State in front of over 1,000 fans in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball on Saturday afternoon at the SMSU PE Gym.
• Emma VanHeel and Leah Jones tallied nine kills apiece to lead the SMSU offense. VanHeel supported the attack with a pair of aces and four block assists. Jones added three digs and a pair of block assists.
• Freshman Natalie Pilney swung for a career-high eight kills on .636 hitting and nabbed three block assists in the win.
• Sydney Thein recorded 39 set assists in support of the attack while holding it down defensively with five digs.
• McKenzie Tolk led the back line with 19 digs and Mya Krystosek followed behind with 10 digs.

SMSU IN "RED OUT" MATCHES
• "Red Out" began when former head coach Terry Culhane, who suffered a heart attack in 2010, felt that his experience offered a unique opportunity for his volleyball program to help educate the public about this deadly disease.
• The Mustangs are 10-2 all-time in "Red Out" matches and have won two of the last three.
    SMSU "Red Out" matches
    2023    Northern State (W, 3-0)
    2022    Concordia-St. Paul (L, 2-3)
    2021    Minnesota State (W, 3-0)
    2019    Upper Iowa (W, 3-0)
    2018    MSU Moorhead (W, 3-0)
    2017    Minnesota State (W, 3-0)
    2016    Bemidji State (W, 3-0)
    2015    Minnesota Duluth (W, 3-2)
    2014    Concordia-St. Paul (L, 2-3)
    2013    Bemidji State (W, 3-0)
    2012    UMary (W, 3-0)
    2011    UMary (W, 3-0)

JONES, THEIN EARN NSIC VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY HONORS
• The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference office announced on Sept. 30 that Leah Jones and Sydney Thein earned weekly player honors following a 3-0 week at home, including a pair of five-set victories. 
• Jones, a native of Marshall, Minn., earns NSIC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. The sophomore outside hitter was the cornerstone of the SMSU offense last week, posting a team-high 4.00 kills per set (52 total) on a .244 hitting percentage, while assisting the offense with four assists and three service aces.
• Jones batted down a match-high 18 kills while adding 17 digs and a pair of blocks for a double-double in the 3-2 non-conference win over Augustana. In the five-set win over No. 22 Northern State, Jones swung for a career-high 19 kills on .250 hitting while again adding 18 digs for another double-double.
• She would end the weekend with a match-high 15 kills on a season-best .379 hitting percentage in the sweep over MSU Moorhead. Jones is a 2023 graduate of Marshall High School.
• Thein, a native of Clara City, Minn., earns NSIC Setter of the Week honors for the second consecutive week. The redshirt freshman shined over the week posting 12.38 assists per set, while leading the Mustangs to a .285 team hitting percentage.
• Thein recorded a then-career-high 56 assists against Augustana, then logged a career-high 64 assists in the win over No. 22 Northern State.
• She would end the weekend with a career match-high 13.67 assists per set (41) against MSU Moorhead, while boasting 7.67 digs per set (23) in the win. Thein also had a standout weekend defensively, posting 4.15 digs per set.

THEIN EARNS NSIC SETTER OF THE WEEK HONORS
• SMSU redshirt freshman setter Sydney Thein was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Setter of the Week on Monday, Sept. 23, following her performances in SMSU's 2-0 weekend in North Dakota.
• Thein, a native of Clara City, Minn., shined over the week, ranking first in the league in assists per set (12.17), while leading the Mustangs to an NSIC-best .313 team hitting percentage.
• Thein recorded 36 assists in the sweep over Minot State on Sept. 20, then logged 37 assists in the 3-0 win over UMary on Sept. 21.
• She would end the weekend with 12.17 assists per set while hitting .250 and recording 17 digs. She is the first Mustang to win an NSIC weekly honor since Oct. 9, 2023, when Emma VanHeel earned defensive honors, and is the first SMSU setter to earn the honor since Emma Thomssen won the weekly accolade in 2018. 

MUSTANG MACHINES
• SMSU ranks first in NSIC play in assists per set (14.97) and kills per set (15.74), second in team hitting pct. (.294) and third in digs per set (18.74).
• Senior outside hitter Saari Kuehl leads SMSU in hitting with 220 kills (3.49 per set), followed by sophomore outside hitter Leah Jones with 194 kills (3.08 per set). Senior middle blocker Emma VanHeel comes in third with 168 kills while sophomore right side hitter Ashley Peltier adds 165 kills. 
• VanHeel also leads the Mustang blockers with 70 blocks.
• Redshirt freshman setter Sydney Thein anchors the offense with 751 assists (11.92 per set) while supporting the attack with 54 kills on .362 hitting. Thein adds 209 digs and 17 service aces.
• Junior libero McKenzie Tolk leads the defense with 343 digs (5.44 per set) while supporting the offense with 63 assists.

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS
• SMSU stayed put at No. 7 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II poll released on Oct. 14.
• SMSU is one of six NSIC schools ranked in the top 25 with St. Cloud State coming in at No. 5, followed by Wayne State at No. 8 and Concordia-St. Paul at No. 12, while Northern State ranks No. 23. Minnesota Duluth clocks in at No. 24. Minnesota State is receiving votes.
• Following the AVCA poll released on Oct. 14, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 235 of the last 236 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.

SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS  
• The Mustangs currently hold multiple team and individual placements amongst the weekly NCAA statistical leader boards.
• SMSU ranks first in the nation in assists per set (14.46) and kills per set (15.22), and second in Division II in digs per set (19.37).
• The Mustangs sit at No. 4 in total assists (911), No. 8 in total kills (959), and No. 18 in total digs (1,220).
• Sydney Thein comes in at No. 5 in assists per set (11.92) and total assists (751), while McKenzie Tolk ranks No. 18 in digs per set (5.44) and No. 16 in total digs (343).

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  
• Tyler Boddy is in his third season as head coach in 2024 and has a career record of 63-14 overall, including 37-10 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
• Boddy, who spent 10 years as an assistant coach at SMSU, became the fifth head coach in the program's 50-year history on Dec. 17, 2021. 
• In that time, the program has appeared in eight NCAA tournaments, including finishing as NCAA national runners-up in 2014. SMSU has a combined record of 311-84 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.

ON THE HORIZON
• The Mustangs are back on the road next week with a single match on Thursday, Oct. 24, versus Wayne State at 6 p.m.
• SMSU continues play on the road with a midweek match against Minnesota State the following Wednesday, Oct. 30, with first serve slated for 6 p.m.