THIS WEEK

The No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team look to remain perfect on the season when the Mustangs start NSIC play with two matches on the road this weekend.

SMSU opens play on Friday, Sept. 19, against Bemidji State at 6 p.m.

The Mustangs then play against No. 24 Minnesota Duluth the next day 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.

SERIES HISTORY

SMSU will play Bemidji State for the 102nd time, with the Mustangs holding a 71-30 advantage.

The last time Bemidji State defeated SMSU was in 2003, with the Mustangs winning 32 straight matches since.

The Mustangs will meet the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth for the 95th time, with the Bulldogs holding a 70-24 advantage all time.

SMSU is 5-2 in matches since 2021 against Minnesota Duluth.

PREVIEWING BEMIDJI STATE

2025 Record: 3-5, 0-0

Current NSIC Ranking: 14th (as of Sept. 16)

Head Coach: Erika Bute, 1st season

Bemidji State Notes

The Beavers finished last season 8-18, 3-15 NSIC. In the 2025 NSIC Preseason poll, Bemidji State was picked to finish 13th in the conference.

Last weekend the Beavers went 3-1 in the Hampton Inn Invitational in Kenosha, Wis., beating Roosevelt (Ill.) Missouri S&T, and McKendree (Ill.) all 3-0. Bemidji State lost to tournament hosts Parkside in five sets.

Sophomore outside hitter Lily Riese currently leads the Beavers in kills with 101, averaging 3.26 kills per set.

Preseason 'Player to Watch' Ava Athman is second on the team with 80 kills, second in digs with 65, and had seven total blocks on the season.

PREVIEWING NO. 24 MINNESOTA DULUTH

2025 Record: 7-0, 0-0

Current NSIC Ranking: 3rd (as of Sept. 16)

Head Coach: Jim Boos, 23rd season

Minnesota Duluth Notes

The Bulldogs finished last season 15-11, 8-10 NSIC. Minnesota Duluth were picked to finish eighth in the 2025 NSIC Preseason poll.

Last weekend the Bulldogs hosted the Up North Preseason Tournament, going 3-0 in the tournament and defeating Michigan Tech, Adelphi (N.Y.), and Northern Michigan.

Senior middle blocker Kylie Broten leads the Bulldogs in kills with 78, averaging 3.12 kills per set, and is one of four Bulldogs with over 50 kills on the season.

Preseason 'Player to Watch' Madeline Guetzkow is currently second on the team with 72 kills, 77 digs, and 25 total blocks.

Sophomore setter Ava Jones is currently No. 5 in DII averaging 11.8 assists per set.

LAST WEEK

The Mustangs continued their perfect start to the season into the Pittsburg State Classic, defeating Southern Nazarene (Okla.) and Maryville (Mo.) in 3-0 sweeps, before mounting a comeback win against tournament hosts Pittsburg State (Kan.).

Leah Jones and Sydney Thein were awarded with All-Tournament honors.

Against Southern Nazarene, Mya Krystosek and Leah Jones led the Mustangs with 15 kills each. Natalie Pilney, with 11 kills, hit .471 in the match.

McKenzie Tolk and Kennedy Drake each had 11 digs, and Sydney Thein had 41 assists.

Leah Jones led the way for SMSU against Maryville with 14 kills, while Natalie Pilney with 12 kills hit .524. Mya Krystosek racked up her fourth double double of the season with 11 kills and 13 digs.

Sydney Thein added 44 assists, while McKenzie Tolk led the squad with 23 digs.

In a 3-2 thriller against Pittsburg State, Leah Jones again led the squad with 19 kills, and was second on the team witbh 20 digs, with Ashley Peltier adding 18 kills of her own.

Mya Krystosek had her fifth double double of the season with 13 kills and her 21 digs led the team. Sydney Thein had 57 assists with 18 digs to end a great weekend for her.

SYDNEY THEIN: NSIC SETTER OF THE WEEK

Sydney Thein was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Setter of the Week after the Mustangs went 3-0 in the Pitt State Classic this past weekend.

Thein, had 142 assists in the Mustangs three games, and averaged 12.91 assists per set.

Against tournament hosts Pitt State (Kan.), Thein tallied 57 assists, her second highest assists in a game this season, and had 18 digs in a five-set win. She also helped the Mustangs to hit .278 in that three game stretch, which was the third best in the NSIC last week.

Thein is currently No. 3 in DII with 12.3 assists per set, and is No. 5 in total assists with 332.

This is the first weekly award for an SMSU volleyball player in the 2025 season, and is the first since Nov. 18, 2024, when McKenzie Tolk won Defensive Player of the Week. Thein now has four NSIC Setter of the Week awards in her career at SMSU.

SMSU IN THE AVCA POLL

SMSU moves up three spots, from No. 9 to No. 6 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Week 2 Poll released on Sept. 15.

SMSU is one of six NSIC schools ranked in the top 25 with the Mustangs leading the conference at No. 6 followed by Concordia-St. Paul at No. 14, Northern State at No. 15, St. Cloud State at No. 16, Wayne State at No. 17, and Minnesota Duluth at No. 24. Minnesota State is recieving votes.

Following the AVCA poll released on Sept. 15, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 243 of the last 244 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 third in DII in kills per set (15.07), No. 20 in digs per set (18.44), and No. 15 in hitting percentage as a team (.269)

The Mustangs are currently second in assists per set (14.48) and T-No. 13 in total assists (391)

Leah Jones is top 50 in total kills and kills per set with 103 and 3.81 respectively.

Natalie Pilney is No. 13 in hitting percentage in DII, hitting .433 on the season.

Sydney Thein is currently fifth in DII with 332 assists and third with 12.3 assists per set.

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  

Tyler Boddy is in his fourth season as head coach in 2025 and has a career record of 73-19 overall, including 43-14 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.

2025 OUTLOOK

SMSU returns 12 letter winners from its 2024 team that finished with a 23-6 overall record and made the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in program history. The 2025 team features three seniors, four juniors, five sophomores, a redshirt freshman, and six true freshmen.

SMSU senior libero, McKenzie Tolk, 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 10th in team history with 1,354 digs.

Junior outside hitter Leah Jones returns to the team after earning All-NSIC second team honors last season, and ranking second on the team with 326 kills and first with 1,073 attacks.

Junior right-side/middle blocker Ashley Peltier, an All-NSIC second team honoree, returns after finishing fourth on the team in 2024 with 295 kills, while hitting .284 on 728 attacks.

Sophomore setter Sydney Thein received 2024 All-NSIC first team honors, while dishing out a team-high 1,294 assists and was third on the squad with 370 digs. Thein was seventh in the NCAA with 11.55 assists per set.

SMSU VOTED THIRD IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL

SMSU was picked to finish third in the annual 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The defending NSIC regular season and tournament champions, St. Cloud State, was selected as the preseason favorites to win the conference earning 212 points and 8 first place votes (coaches can't vote for their own school). 

Concordia-St. Paul earned 208 points and four first place votes to finish in second place, while SMSU ranked third with 202 points and receiving the same votes as Concordia-St. Paul. 2023 regular season champions Wayne State finished fourth in the polls with 188 points, and Northern State rounded out the top five earning 170 points.

ON THE HORIZON

The Mustangs continue NSIC play next week with three matches in four days.

SMSU begins on the road against Sioux Falls on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m.

The Mustangs home debut will be on Friday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. against MSU Moorhead, and will play again the next day at 2 p.m. against Minnesota Crookston.

All games are available on the NSIC Network.