BURNSVILLE, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State university volleyball team was picked to finish third in the annual 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released on Monday.
Defending NSIC regular season champion, St. Cloud State, was selected as the preseason favorite to win the conference earning 212 points and eight first place votes (coaches can't vote for their own school). Concordia-St. Paul earned 208 points and four first place vote to finish in second place followed by SMSU with 202 points and four first-place votes. In fourth place was Wayne State with 188 points, while Northern State rounded out the top five earning 170 points.
Ella Thompson a senior middle blocker from St. Cloud State, was named the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year.
SMSU, under fourth-year head coach
Tyler Boddy, opens fall practice on Monday, Aug. 18.
SMSU senior libero,
McKenzie Tolk (Minneota, Minn.), was named an NSIC 'Player to Watch'. Tolk earned AVCA All-American honorable mention honors in 2024, leading the Mustangs with 605 digs, while averaging a school single-season record 5.4 digs per set. A two-time All-NSIC second team honoree, Tolk enters the 2025 season ranking 10
th in team history with 1,354 digs.
"Kenzie is the ultimate example of how you would want all your players to practice," Boddy said. "She is always going all out and trying to push everyone else around her to play as hard as they can. Kenzie can increase the level of play in the gym by her constant effort and the leadership qualities she possesses. We look forward to her leading our team in the back court again this fall."
SMSU returns 12 letter winners from its 2024 team that finished 23-6 overall, 14-4 NSIC, and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the second straight season. The 2025 team features three seniors, four juniors, five sophomores, one redshirt freshman and six true freshmen.
"We have a great core group of returners who have put in a lot of time, effort and commitment to being Mustangs," Boddy said. "We will miss Emma (VanHeel) and Saari (Kuehl) who graduated this past May and look forward to adding our incoming freshmen to a hard-working group of returners. They have created a great bond together over the spring and summer! We are looking forward to competing within the NSIC and should be fun to get them all back in the gym soon."
Junior outside hitter
Leah Jones, who earned All-NSIC second team honors last season, returns after ranking second on the team with 326 kills and ranking first with 1,073 attacks. Junior right-side/middle blocker
Ashley Peltier, an All-NSIC second team honoree from last season, finished fourth on the team in 2024 with 295 kills, while hitting .284 on 728 attacks. Sophomore setter
Sydney Thein, a 2024 All-NSIC first team honoree, dished out a team-high 1,294 assists and was third on the squad with 370 digs.
The Mustangs will host their annual 'Late Show' preseason scrimmage, which is open to the public, on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. inside the PE Gym. SMSU opens the regular season on Sept. 4-6 with four matches at the West Florida Classic in Pensacola, Fla.
SMSU begins its 18-match NSIC season on the road on Sept. 19 at Bemidji State. The Mustangs will have their home opener on Sept. 26 versus MSU Moorhead.
