TOMORROW
• The No. 16 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team has secured the fourth seed in the NSIC Volleyball Tournament after posting a 14-4 record in conference play this season.
• The Mustangs host the five seed, No. 18 Northern State, Tuesday, Nov. 19, with first serve slated for 6 p.m.
• The winner of the match will advance to the semifinals and play the winner of St. Cloud State / Sioux Falls on Friday, Nov. 22.

MATCH COVERAGE
• Tomorrow's match will be broadcast on Marshall Radio 105.1 FM KARL, with Anthony Rohlik on play-by-play.
• 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
• Tomorrow will be the 77th meeting between SMSU and NSU, with the Mustangs leading 65-11 in the all-time series.
• The Mustangs have defeated the Wolves in nine of the last 10 match-ups.
• SMSU defeated NSU twice in the regular season, with both matches playing to five sets. The Mustangs picked up the first win at home in come-from-behind fashion before securing the series sweep this past Saturday.
• SMSU is 29-2 all-time at home versus NSU.

SMSU IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT
• After earning the fourth seed in the 2024 NSIC Volleyball Tournament, the Mustangs have now made the postseason for the fourth consecutive year and 20th time overall.
• SMSU suffered a 3-1 loss to Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament a season ago.
• The Mustangs have won two NSIC Tournament titles, claiming victory in 2012 and 2017.
    SMSU NSIC Tournament Results (since 2014)
    2023    MINNESOTA DULUTH          L, 1-3
    2022    vs. St. Cloud State            L, 0-3
    2021    vs. St. Cloud State             L, 0-3
    2018    at Minnesota Duluth        L, 1-3
    2018    vs. Northern State           W, 3-2
    2018    WAYNE STATE                        W, 3-0
    2017*    at Concordia-St. Paul    W, 3-0
    2017    vs. Augustana                  W, 3-2
    2017    UPPER IOWA                            W, 3-0
    2016    at Concordia-St. Paul      L, 0-3
    2016    vs. Wayne State             W, 3-0
    2016    SIOUX FALLS                          W, 3-0
    2015    vs. Winona State             L, 2-3
    2015    AUGUSTANA                          W, 3-2
    2014    at Minnesota Duluth        L, 1-3
    2014    WINONA STATE                   W, 3-0
BOLD indicates home match
* NSIC Tournament Champion

MORE ON NORTHERN STATE
• NSU closed the regular season 20-6 overall and 12-6 in NSIC play. The Wolves finished their regular season schedule with a 3-0 win over Augustana before suffering a 3-2 loss to SMSU on Saturday.
• The Wolves have earned a seed in the postseason tournament for seven consecutive seasons, and suffered a 3-0 loss to St. Cloud State in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals a season ago.
• Natalia Szybinska leads the Wolves offense with 302 kills. Szybinska adds 51 digs and 45 blocks.
• Hanna Thompson follows behind with 263 kills and helps defensively with 86 digs and 40 blocks.
• Keri Walker is the anchor for the offense, putting up a team-high 1,035 assists while holding it down defensively with 287 digs, good enough for second on the team. Walker adds 29 service aces and 56 kills on .285 hitting.
• The NSIC Libero of the Year, Abby Meister, excels on the back line with a team-high 543 digs to go with 19 service aces and 28 assists. Abby Brooks ranks fourth with 195 kills and leads the NSU blocking unit with 114 blocks.
• Morissen Samuels ranks third with 247 kills and 64 blocks, while helping defensively with 68 digs.
• NSU is averaging 13.1 kills per set on 24.4 percent hitting while opponents average 12.6 kills per set on 17.8 percent hitting.

LAST TIME OUT
• SMSU began its final weekend of regular season play with a bang, staying resilient to defeat the MSU Moorhead Dragons 30-28, 25-9, 19-25, 21-25, 18-16 in five sets on Friday evening inside Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
• Emma VanHeel led the way with 19 kills on an efficient .372 hitting percentage and 10 digs for a double-double. Ashley Peltier followed with 16 kills on .361 hitting and jumped for a pair of solo blocks on defense. Saari Kuehl recorded 12 kills, Leah Jones posted 11 kills, and Karli Arkell batted down 10 kills. Jones added 17 digs for a double-double and jumped for three blocks.  
• Sydney Thein supported the offense with 60 assists. She also recorded five kills and a pair of aces offensively and notched a double-double with 18 digs on defense.
• McKenzie Tolk led the SMSU defense to a season-high 117 digs. Tolk recorded 26 digs and supported offensively with seven assists. Mya Krystosek and Kennedy Drake recorded 18 and 17 digs, respectively.
• SMSU battled to earn a five-set win over No. 18 Northern State 18-25, 25-17, 25-17, 14-25, 15-9 in the final regular season NSIC match on Saturday.
• Karli Arkell led the way with a career-high 16 kills on an efficient .406 hitting percentage and jumped up for three blocks. Ashley Peltier followed with 15 kills on .233 hitting and jumped for five block assists on defense. Leah Jones and Emma VanHeel recorded 12 kills apiece. Jones added 16 digs for a double-double and VanHeel jumped for five block assists.
• Sydney Thein supported the offense with 52 assists. She also recorded three kills and an ace offensively and notched a double-double with 15 digs on defense.
• McKenzie Tolk recorded 25 digs and supported offensively with four assists. Mya Krystosek and Kennedy Drake recorded 12 and eight digs, respectively.

SIX MUSTANGS EARN ALL-NSIC VOLLEYBALL HONORS
• The NSIC office announced on Nov. 13 that Southwest Minnesota State University setter Sydney Thein has been named to the All-NSIC first team, while teammates Leah Jones, Saari Kuehl, Ashley Peltier, McKenzie Tolk, and Emma VanHeel have been named All-NSIC second team.
• Thein, a redshirt freshman setter from Clara City, Minn., earns All-NSIC first team honors for the first time in her career. She has dished out 1,080 assists while ranking third on the team with 301 digs. Thein has registered 71 kills while compiling a .321 hitting percentage and has 18 blocks, 25 service aces and 17 double-doubles. In the latest NCAA national statistics (Nov. 11), she ranks No. 6 in both assists per set (11.61) and total assists. Thein recorded a career-high 73 assists in the win over then-No. 7 Wayne State on Oct. 24. The 73 assists are tied for the second-most in a single match in program history.
• Jones, a sophomore outside hitter from Marshall, Minn., earns All-NSIC honors for the second consecutive season. Jones earned AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year along with NSIC Freshman of the Year and All-NSIC first team honors a season ago. Jones ranks second with 276 kills. She has also recorded 302 digs, 42 blocks, 30 service aces, and 30 assists. She has racked up double-digit kills in 14 matches and double-digit digs in 16 matches. Jones swung for a career-high 19 kills in the home win over then-No. 22 Northern State on Sept. 27. She also bumped a career-high 27 digs in the road win versus then-No. 7 Wayne State on Oct. 24.
• Kuehl, a senior outside hitter from Reinbeck, Iowa, earns All-NSIC honors for the second time in her career. With two regular season matches remaining, Kuehl leads SMSU with 304 kills and has compiled a .226 hitting percentage. Kuehl has amassed double-figure kills in 19 matches, including a season-high 18 twice. She has also recorded 68 digs and 36 blocks.
• Peltier, a sophomore right side and middle blocker from Taylors Falls, Minn., earns All-NSIC honors for the first time. She ranks fourth on the team with 234 kills while logging a .288 hitting percentage. Peltier recorded a career-high 18 kills in the win over then-No. 7 Wayne State on Oct. 24 and has reached double-digit kills in 10 matches. She has also recorded 72 blocks and 37 digs. 
• A junior defensive specialist from Minneota, Minn., Tolk leads SMSU with 495 digs and currently ranks 21st nationally in digs per set (5.32). A second time All-NSIC honoree, she has reached double-figures in digs in every match and has registered 20 or more digs nine times. Tolk has also recorded 87 assists and 24 service aces.
• A senior middle blocker from Otsego, Minn., VanHeel earns All-NSIC honors for the second time in her career. VanHeel ranks third for SMSU with 258 kills on an efficient .317 hitting percentage and leads the team with 101 blocks. She has also recorded 73 digs, 19 service aces, and 16 assists. She has racked up double-digit kills in 12 matches and five or more blocks in 11 matches. VanHeel swung for a season-high 18 kills in the in the road win versus then-No. 7 Wayne State on Oct. 24. She currently ranks seventh all-time in program history with 400 total blocks.

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, TOLK EARN NSIC VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY HONORS
• The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference office announced on Sept. 30 that Leah Jones 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.
• McKenzie Tolk was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. The junior libero stood out defensively over the week, leading the SMSU defense with 5.10 digs per set and supported the offense with four service aces and 11 assists. 
• Tolk recorded a team-high 26 digs in the 3-2 win over MSU Moorhead on Nov. 15, then logged a team-best 25 digs in the pivotal 3-2 win over No. 18 Northern State on Nov. 16.
• Tolk is a native of Minneota, Minn., and is 2022 graduate of Minneota High School.

MUSTANG MACHINES
• SMSU ranks first in the NSIC in digs per set (19.27), and assists per set (13.77), while ranking second in kills per set (14.53), and sixth in service aces per set (1.65) and in team hitting pct. (.238).
• Senior outside hitter Saari Kuehl leads SMSU in hitting with 318 kills (3.09 per set), followed by sophomore outside hitter Leah Jones with 299 kills (2.90 per set). Senior middle blocker Emma VanHeel comes in third with 289 kills while sophomore right side hitter Ashley Peltier adds 265 kills. 
• VanHeel also leads the Mustang blockers with 109 blocks.
• Redshirt freshman setter Sydney Thein anchors the offense with 1,192 assists (11.57 per set) while supporting the attack with 79 kills on .321 hitting. Thein adds 334 digs and 28 service aces.
• Junior libero McKenzie Tolk leads the defense with 546 digs (5.30 per set) while supporting the offense with 98 assists.

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN REGIONAL RANKINGS
• The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team is ranked No. 7 in the second NCAA Division II Central Region rankings released on Nov. 13 by the NCAA national committee.
• SMSU is one of five NSIC schools to appear in the region rankings along with St. Cloud State (No. 1), Concordia-St. Paul (No. 2), Wayne State (No. 8), and Northern State (No. 9).

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS
• SMSU moved up to No. 12 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II poll released on Nov. 18.
• SMSU is one of five NSIC schools ranked in the top 25 with St. Cloud State coming in at No. 2, followed by Concordia-St. Paul at No. 8 and Wayne State at No. 15, while Northern State ranks No. 18. Minnesota Duluth is receiving votes.
• Following the AVCA poll released on Nov. 18, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 240 of the last 241 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 (13.77) and digs per set (19.27), while ranking eighth in Division II in kills per set (14.60).
• The Mustangs sit at No. 5 in total assists (1,418), No. 7 in total kills (1,497), and No. 11 in total digs (1,985).
• Sydney Thein comes in at No. 6 in assists per set (11.57) and in total assists (1,192), while McKenzie Tolk ranks No. 22 in digs per set (5.30) and No. 20 in total digs (546).

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  
• Tyler Boddy is in his third season as head coach in 2024 and has a career record of 69-17 overall, including 43-13 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 294-81 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 is currently ranked seventh in the NCAA Central Region Rankings and awaits the NCAA Selection Show, which airs on Monday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m.