THIS WEEK
• The No. 5 SMSU volleyball team begins conference action on the road this weekend with a pair of matches against Minot State and UMary.
• The Mustangs match up against the Beavers on Friday, Sept. 20, with first serve slated for 6 p.m., inside the MSU Dome.
• SMSU faces off with the Marauders on Saturday, Sept. 21, with match time set for 12 p.m., inside the McDowell Activity Center.

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
• This Friday will be the 15th meeting between SMSU and MISU, with the Mustangs leading the series 14-0.
• The first meeting happened in 2012, and the most recent meeting happened in September of 2023 with the Mustangs capturing a sweep.
• SMSU is 7-0 all-time on the road against MISU.
• SMSU and UMary will meet for the 26th time, with the Mustangs leading the series 25-0.
• The Mustangs defeated the Marauders a season ago with a sweep by scores of 25-14, 25-23, and 25-21.
• SMSU is 11-0 all-time on the road against UMary.

MORE ON MINOT STATE
• MISU is 1-6 on the season and last played on Sept. 14 suffering a four-set loss to Mayville State (N.D.). The Beavers are 1-2 at home this season.
• Paulina Kowalska leads the team in scoring at 2.42 kills per set with a team-high 58 kills.
• Bailee Brommenschenkel leads the squad in blocks with 21 and ranks third with 40 kills.
• Emily Barker leads the team on the back line with 52 digs and the support of the offense with a team-high 110 assists. 
• MISU is averaging 9.7 kills per set on 11 percent hitting while opponents average 13.0 kills on 19.8 percent hitting.

MORE ON UMARY
• UMary (2-6) finished the Rosella Meier Fall Classic with a 1-3 record in the tournament. 
• Gabby Caskey leads the Marauders in scoring at 2.87 kills per set with 86 kills, while also leading the team with 19 blocks.
• Charli Blackman follows closely behind with 80 kills (2.67 per set) while ranking second on the squad with 86 digs.
• Maddy Freed leads UMary with 285 assists (9.50 per set) and in service aces with 13.
• Kaia Sueker holds down the back line with 132 digs.
• UMary is averaging 11.2 kills per set on 15.2 percent hitting while opponents average 12.6 kills per set with 20.4 percent hitting.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Mustangs enter the week 8-0 after going 4-0 at the Drury Invitational.
SMSU kicked off the tournament against host Drury (Mo.), earning a 3-1 win on Thursday evening. 
• Against DU, Emma VanHeel logged a stellar performance collecting a match-high 15 kills on .429 hitting to lead the SMSU offense. Saari Kuehl added 11 kills, a pair of assists and eight digs, while Karli Arkell swung for 11 kills on .310 hitting. Sydney Thein paced the offense with her fourth double-double in five matches, logging 41 assists and 13 digs. Five Mustangs collected double-digit digs with McKenzie Tolk collecting a team-high 19. Freshman Kennedy Drake also logged 16 digs.
• The Mustangs continued tournament play with another pair of wins on Saturday over Rockhurst (Mo.) and Southern Nazarene (Okla.)
• Against RU, four Mustangs each posted double-digit kills to lead the SMSU offense with Emma VanHeel leading the way recording 16 kills on .326 hitting. Saari Kuehl added 13 kills and five digs, while Leah Jones and Karli Arkell recorded 13 and 10 kills, respectively . Sydney Thein paced the offense with her fifth double-double in six matches, logging a career-high 52 assists and 19 digs. The Mustangs collected 98 digs on the day, with McKenzie Tolk collecting 26.
• Against SNU, A trio of hitters in Emma VanHeel, Leah Jones, and Saari Kuehl each recorded double-digit kills to guide the Mustangs offense. VanHeel logged 11 kills and added three digs and three block assists, while Jones tallied seven digs and a pair of assists. Ashley Peltier hit for nine kills in support of the offense, while Sydney Thein posted four kills with 44 assists, eight digs, and a pair of aces. McKenzie Tolk anchored the back line with 17 digs, while Kennedy Drake led the team with three service aces.
• Saari Kuehl led the Mustangs against Newman (Kan.) with a match-high 12 kills on .219 hitting, while adding five digs and three block assists. Emma VanHeel and Ashley Peltier combined for seven blocks while each adding eight and seven kills, respectively. Sydney Thein supported the offense with 26 assists, while adding a pair of blocks and eight digs on defense. McKenzie Tolk led the team with 19 digs and four aces, while Leah Jones recorded a career-high five aces. It is the Mustangs first time logging at least 15 aces since Sept. 10, 2005.

MUSTANG MACHINES
• SMSU ranks first in the NSIC in assists per set (14.15) and kills per set (14.96), and digs per set (19.89). The Mustangs rank second in the league in opponent hitting pct. (.124), third in service aces (2.07), seventh in hitting pct. (.233).
• Senior outside hitter Saari Kuehl leads SMSU in hitting at 3.67 kills per set with 99 total kills, followed by senior middle blocker Emma VanHeel with 81 kills, 3.00 per set. Sophomore outside hitter Leah Jones adds 76 kills.
• Junior middle blocker Emma VanHeel leads the Mustang blockers with 28 blocks.
• Redshirt freshman setter Sydney Thein ranks second in the league with 11.63 assists per set while junior libero McKenzie Tolk ranks second in digs per set (5.52) with 149 total digs.

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS
• SMSU moved up to No. 5 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II poll released on Sept. 16. It is the first time the Mustangs have topped the NSIC in the national poll since the 2021 season.
• SMSU is one of six NSIC schools ranked in the top 25 with Wayne State coming in at No. 8, followed by Concordia-St. Paul at No. 10 and Minnesota Duluth at No. 11, while St. Cloud State comes in at No. 12. Northern State, after receiving votes in the previous poll, clocks in at No. 24. Minnesota State is currently receiving votes.
• Following the AVCA poll released on Sept. 16, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 231 of the last 232 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.

SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS  
• The Mustangs currently hold multiple team and individual placements amongst the NCAA statistical leader boards.
• SMSU is ranked third in the nation in assists per set at 14.15 and fourth in kills per set with 14.96.
• The Mustangs reside in the top 10 in two other categories, sitting at No. 4 in digs per set (19.89) and No. 1 in attacks per set (41.81).
• Sydney Thein comes in at No. 6 in assists per set (11.63) and No. 29 in total assists (314), while McKenzie Tolk sits at No. 16 in digs per set (5.52) and No. 34 in total digs (149). Saari Kuehl ranks No. 61 in kills per set (3.67).

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  
• Tyler Boddy is in his third season as head coach in 2024 and has a career record of 54-13 overall, including 29-9 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 302-83 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.

2024 OUTLOOK
• SMSU returns eight letter winners from its 2023 team that finished with a 23-7 overall record and made the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history. The 2024 team features two seniors, three juniors, four sophomores, a redshirt freshman, and five true freshmen.
• SMSU senior outside hitter, Saari Kuehl, was named an NSIC 'Player to Watch'. Kuehl earned All-NSIC second team in 2023 after a season where she finished with 283 kills, averaging 3.02 points per set, including a season-high 18 kills in a match against Augustana (10/3).
• Senior middle blocker Emma VanHeel looks to build off a strong junior season that saw her earn a Defensive Player of the Week accolade. VanHeel finished first on the team in blocks (100), second in points (306.5) and third in kills (216).
• Returning juniors McKenzie Tolk and Karli Arkell aim to continue their strong defensive play from their sophomore campaigns, as Tolk led the team in digs (487) and Arkell finished second in blocks (85). 
• Sophomores Leah Jones, Mya Krystosek, and Ashley Peltier will look to continue to make an impact in their sophomore seasons. Jones earned NSIC Freshman of the Year, AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year, and All-NSIC first team honors after a season that saw Jones lead the squad in kills (327), rank second in service aces (32), and third in digs (253).

ON THE HORIZON
• SMSU's home-opener is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 24, with a non-conference match versus Augustana.
• The Mustangs welcome Northern State on Friday, Sept. 27, with match time set for 6 p.m., before hosting MSU Moorhead the following day with first serve slated for 2 p.m.