THIS WEEKEND
• The No. 10 SMSU volleyball is scheduled to split two matches home and away this week, playing at Minnesota State (14-6, 6-6) tomorrow, before hosting Sioux Falls (12-8, 7-5 NSIC) this weekend.
• The Mustangs match up against the Mavericks tomorrow, Oct. 30, with first serve slated for 6 p.m.
• SMSU then welcomes the Cougars on Saturday, Nov. 2, with first serve scheduled for 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.

SERIES HISTORY
• Wednesday will be the 63rd meeting between SMSU and MSU, with the all-time series tied 31-31.
• The Mustangs defeated the Mavericks a season ago, sweeping MSU in Marshall.
• Nine of the last 10 meetings have gone the way of the Mustangs.
• SMSU is 9-16 all-time on the road against MSU.
• Saturday will be the 24th meeting between SMSU and USF, with the Mustangs leading 19-4 in the all-time series.
• The Mustangs defeated the Cougars twice last season, sweeping USF on the road before capturing a 3-1 win at home.
• Seven of the last 10 matches have gone the way of the Mustangs.
• SMSU is 10-1 all-time at home versus USF.

MORE ON MINNESOTA STATE
• Minnesota State went 1-1 last week. On Thursday, the team fell in a four-setter against No. 11 Concordia-St. Paul but defeated the Vikings of Augustana in a home match, 3-1, on Saturday.
• The Mavericks rank fourth in the NSIC in both blocks per set (2.23) and digs per set (17.25).
• Kiya Durant is currently leading the Mavericks with 72 total blocks this season, which is tied for ninth amongst NSIC players and has a hitting percentage of .329, which ranks 10th in the conference. Durant has 136 kills so far.
• Brooke Bolwerk leads the team with 499 assists and has tallied 163 digs. She surpassed 2,000 career assists in the team's match against UMary.
• Toryn Richards leads the team with 203 kills and ranks second with 201 digs thus far. She also has 16 service aces.
• Emma Loveall has 185 kills for MSU this season, good for second on the team, and has tallied 22 blocks on defense.
• Ellie Kline leads the team with 263 digs in 2024, which ranks 13th in the NSIC. Kline ranks third on the team in service aces with 17. Madisen Miller, another defensive specialist, has 24 aces on the year and is third with 164 digs.
• Avery Klein ranks third on the team in kills with 173, and consistently is one of the team's leading hitters at the end of matches. Klein has also recorded 34 total blocks this season.
• MSU is averaging 12.9 kills per set on 21.8 percent hitting while opponents average 12.0 kills on 17.2 percent hitting.

MORE ON SIOUX FALLS
• USF went 0-1 last week, pushing then-No. 7 Wayne State to five sets and ultimately falling short.
• Sadie Voss leads the Cougars offense with 266 kills on a .253 hitting percentage. Voss has posted 26 service aces and 30 assists in support of the offense, while helping of defense with a team-high 237 digs.
• Jordan Kuper follows behind with 199 kills and ranks first defensively with 74 total blocks 
• Elise Gillen is the anchor for the offense, putting up a team-high 523 kills while holding it down defensively with 198 digs, good enough for third on the team.
• Jordan Hamm excels on the back line with a team-high 26 service aces to go with 57 blocks at the net.
• USF is averaging 13.2 kills per set on 25.7 percent hitting while opponents average 13.0 kills per set on 20.8 percent hitting.

LAST TIME OUT
• SMSU turned the tables on the then-No. 7 Wayne State Wildcats to win three consecutive sets and earn a comeback upset win last Thursday night.
• Five Mustangs posted over 10 kills to guide the SMSU offense to the come-from-behind win. Ashley Peltier led the attack with a career-high 18 kills on an efficient .379 hitting percentage and grabbed three block assists. Saari Kuehl also added 18 kills on .311 hitting while adding four digs on defense. Emma VanHeel chipped in 18 kills as well and led SMSU with five block assists and a solo block while helping the back line with a pair of aces.
• Karli Arkell and Leah Jones swung for 12 apiece to round out the offense. Jones recorded a career-high 27 digs on defense for a double-double.
• SMSU totaled a season-best in assists thanks to Sydney Thein working on both sides of the floor, setting a career-high 73 assists to support the offense while chipping in 15 digs for a double-double. The 73 assists ranks second in team single-match history. Cara Carson holds the record of 74 set versus Wayne State in 2010.
• McKenzie Tolk led the back line with a career-high 30 digs while helping offensively with three assists
• Mya Kystosek aided Tolk with a career-high of her own, posting 25 digs. Kennedy Drake chipped in 12 digs in addition.

THEIN EARNS THIRD NSIC SETTER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADE
• SMSU redshirt freshman setter Sydney Thein was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Setter of the Week on Monday, Oct. 28, following her performance in SMSU's 1-0 week. It is the third time the SMSU setter has earned the accolade this season.
• Thein, a native of Clara City, Minn., shined over the week, ranking first in the league in assists per set (14.60), while leading the Mustangs to season-high 79 kills on a .235 team hitting percentage.
• Thein logged 73 assists in the 3-2 reverse sweep and upset win over No. 7 Wayne State on Thursday (Oct. 24) - tying the second-most assists in a single match in team history.
• She would add a kill and 15 digs on defense for her 13th double-double of the season.

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 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 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 second in the NSIC in digs per set (18.61), while coming in third in assists per set (14.00) and kills per set (14.61), and ranking fourth in team hitting pct. (.251) and blocks per set (2.16).
• Senior outside hitter Saari Kuehl leads SMSU in hitting with 260 kills (3.38 per set), followed by sophomore outside hitter Leah Jones with 234 kills (3.04 per set). Senior middle blocker Emma VanHeel comes in third with 207 kills while sophomore right side hitter Ashley Peltier adds 196 kills. 
• VanHeel also leads the Mustang blockers with 86 blocks.
• Redshirt freshman setter Sydney Thein anchors the offense with 910 assists (11.82 per set) while supporting the attack with 57 kills on .327 hitting. Thein adds 243 digs and 19 service aces.
• Junior libero McKenzie Tolk leads the defense with 411 digs (5.34 per set) while supporting the offense with 75 assists.

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS
• SMSU bounced back into the top 10 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II poll released on Oct. 28.
• SMSU is one of five NSIC schools ranked in the top 25 with St. Cloud State coming in at No. 3, followed by Concordia-St. Paul at No. 9 and Wayne State at No. 11, while Northern State ranks No. 21. Minnesota Duluth has dropped out of the poll but is receiving votes.
• Following the AVCA poll released on Oct. 28, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 237 of the last 238 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 third in the nation in assists per set (14.12), fourth in kills per set (14.81), and fifth in Division II in digs per set (19.32).
• The Mustangs sit at No. 9 in total assists (1,087), No. 13 in total kills (1,140), and No. 20 in total digs (1,488).
• Sydney Thein comes in at No. 5 in assists per set (11.82) and No. 7 in total assists (910), while McKenzie Tolk ranks No. 21 in digs per set (5.34) and No. 22 in total digs (411).

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  
• Tyler Boddy is in his third season as head coach in 2024 and has a career record of 64-16 overall, including 38-12 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 312-86 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
• SMSU hosts Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston for its final home matches of the regular season on Nov. 8-9.