THIS WEEK

The No. 15 ranked Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team continue NSIC play with a pair of matches.

SMSU will face off against Augustana (8-9, 2-7 NSIC) on Thursday, Oct. 16, at 6 p.m.

The Mustangs will then be on the road on Saturday, facing No. 7 ranked Wayne State (15-3, 8-1 NSIC) in Wayne, Neb., at 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.

Thursday's match will be live on 105.1 FM KARL with Anthony Rohlik doing play-by-play.

SERIES HISTORY

SMSU will play Augustana for the 74th time, with the Mustangs holding a 38-34-1 advantage all time.

The Mustangs have won the last four meetings against the Vikings dating back to 2023.

The Mustangs will meet Wayne State for the 66th time, with the series tied at 32-32-1 all time.

SMSU won last year's matchup against Wayne State in a reverse sweep, and have won three of the last five against the Wildcats.

PREVIEWING AUGUSTANA

2025 Record: 8-9, 2-7 NSIC

Current NSIC Ranking: 11th (as of Oct. 14)

Head Coach: Jennifer Jacobs, 9th season

The Vikings started their season 6-2, participating in the Chadron State (Neb.) Classic and the 2025 Fort Hays State Tiger Classic.

Last week the Vikings lost both their matches, losing in three sets against No. 11 St. Cloud State, and in four sets against No. 25 Minnesota State.

Senior outside hitter Maya Wente currently leads the Vikings with 90 kills on the season, averaging 2.81 kills per set, and leads the team with nine solo blocks, and 26 total blocks.

PREVIEWING NO. 7 WAYNE STATE

2025 Record: 15-3, 8-1 NSIC

Current NSIC Ranking: 1st (as of Oct. 14)

Head Coach: Scott Kneifl, 21st season

The Wildcats started the season 6-2, participating in the Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) Classic and the Colorado Premier Classic. The Wildcats defeated then No. 3 ranked MSU Denver, and lost to now No. 6 Point Loma.

The Wildcats won both their matches last week, defeating then No. 22 ranked Minnesota State in four sets, and defeated No. 11 ranked St. Cloud State in five sets.

Sophomore middle hitter Chloe Hanel was voted NSIC Defensive Player of the Week for her individual performance last week. Against St. Cloud State, Hanel tied a school record with 13 blocks in the match to go along with 18 kills. She averaged 3.75 kills and 2.25 blocks in the Wildcats' two matches.

LAST WEEK

The Mustangs returned to Marshall for Homecoming Weekend, and came out with two victories.

In Friday's five set match against then No. 8 ranked Concordia-St. Paul, Leah Jones led the Mustangs in kills with 18 and added four digs. Mya Krystosek had a double double of 17 kills and 17 digs, hitting .333 on the night. Ashley Peltier added 12 kills and hit .231. 

McKenzie Tolk had 22 digs, and Sydney Thein had 59 assists.

In a five set match against Winona State the next day, Mya Krystosek led the Mustangs with 12 kills, hitting .367, with five digs. Leah Jones and Ashley Peltier had 11 kills each, and both hit .579 on 19 attacks.

McKenzie Tolk led SMSU with 14 digs, and Sydney Thein had 37 assists and 12 digs.

The Mustangs hit .484 in the match, the third highest hitting percentage in team history, and only had three hitting errors, which is the least in a match in the last 25 years for SMSU.

SMSU IN THE AVCA POLL

SMSU moves up two spots, from No. 17 to No. 15 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Week 6 Poll released on Oct. 13.

SMSU is one of seven NSIC schools represented in the recent poll, with Wayne State leading the conference at No. 7. Concordia-St. Paul falls two spots to No. 10 followed by St. Cloud State at No. 11. The Mustangs are at No. 15, followed by Minnesota Duluth, who falls four spots from last week to No. 17. Northern State moves to No. 22, and Minnesota State falls three spots to No. 25.

Following the AVCA poll released on Oct. 13, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 247 of the last 248 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.

SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS  

The Mustangs have started the 2025 season with team and individual placements amongst the NCAA statistical leader boards.

SMSU rank No. 12 in DII in kills per set (14.16), No. 15 in hitting percentage as a team (.262), and are in the top 50 in digs per set (16.90)

The Mustangs are currently ninth in assists per set (13.44) and are No. 15 in total assists (847)

Leah Jones is No. 34 in kills per set with 3.85, and is currently No. 22 in total kills (239).

Sydney Thein is currently fourth in DII with 721 assists and fifth with 11.44 assists per set.

MUSTANGS LEADING THE CONFERENCE  

The Mustangs have started the 2025 season with team and individual placements amongst the NSIC statistical leader boards.

SMSU ranks first in the conference in assists with 734, and are first in both total digs (946) and digs per set (17.20).

Leah Jones is fourth in the conference with 3.79 kills per set, and is second in kills with 210. Mya Krystosek is also in the top 20 in both categories.

Natalie Pilney and Karli Arkell are in the top 20 in both hitting percentage and total blocks.

Sydney Thein is currently first in the NSIC with 721 assists and second with 11.44 assists per set.

McKenzie Tolk is fourth in the NSIC in total digs (285) and fifth in digs per set (4.52).

Paige Steinmetz is in the conference top 20 in both total service aces (24) and aces per set (0.38).

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  

Tyler Boddy is in his fourth season as head coach in 2025 and has a career record of 81-23 overall, including 48-18 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play with two NCAA tournament appearances (2023 & 2024). 

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. 

During his tenure at SMSU, the program has appeared in nine NCAA tournaments, including finishing as NCAA national runners-up in 2014. SMSU has a combined record of 317-89 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 will be back in the PE Gym on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. against Sioux Falls for the Faculty and Staff Appreciation match.

SMSU then travel north, facing Minnesota Crookston on Friday, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m., and MSU Moorhead the next day at 2 p.m.

All matches are available on the NSIC Network.

Tickets for Tuesday's match and more information can be found at smsumustangs.com/sports/womens-volleyball