THIS WEEK

The No. 11 ranked SMSU volleyball team, after defeating Jamestown and Northern State, continues action inside the PE Gym this weekend.

The Mustangs host Minnesota Crookston on Friday, Oct. 16, at 6 p.m., before facing Minnesota State Moorhead the following Saturday at 2 p.m.

All matches are listed in central time.

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 face Minnesota Crookston for the 43rd time on Friday. SMSU leads the series 41-1 all time.

The Mustangs have only allowed two sets in UMC's favor in the last decade, and have not lost to the Golden Eagles since 2003. Head coach Tyler Boddy holds a 5-0 record against UMC as SMSU head coach.

The Mustangs meet Minnesota State Moorhead for the 119th time on Saturday. SMSU leads the series 72-46 all time.

The 'Stangs have won 27 straight against the Dragons dating back to 2006, and have a 37-5 record since 2000. Tyler Boddy is 6-0 against the Dragons as head coach of the Mustangs.

RECAP OF LAST WEEK

The Mustangs had a pair of gritty wins last weekend, defeating Jamestown in four sets, and Northern State in five sets.

Leah Jones led the Mustangs with 35 kills across nine sets, including a career-high 27 kill performance against the Wolves.

Mollie Rupp added 24 kills (13 v. UJ, 11 v. NSU) while hitting .294 across the weekend.

Sydney Thein and Tatem Schmidt both totaled 51 assists pacing the Mustangs offense. Thein racked up 14 digs defensively, while Schmidt had 14 in each match.

Ashlynn Schroeder led the way defensively 48 digs, including tying her career-high against NSU with 25. Schroeder averaged 5.33 digs per set in the two matches last weekend.

After SMSU's five-set win over the Wolves on Saturday, the Mustangs are now 2-0 in five set matches.

MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS

SMSU returns 11 letter winners from the 2025 team that won 21 matches last season. The 2026 team features three seniors, four juniors, three sophomores, two redshirt freshman, and five true freshmen.

The Mustangs have collected 919 kills over the first 18 matches with a team hitting percentage of .258. SMSU is holding teams to a hitting percentage of .168. 

Senior outside hitter Leah Jones leads the Mustangs with 199 kills and 3.16 kills per set. The Marshall, Minn., native has nine matches with double-digit kills, including a career-high 27 kills against Northern State. Jones ranks ninth all time in kills at SMSU.

Outside hitter Mollie Rupp and middle blocker Natalie Pilney are second and third on the team in kills, with 159 and 152 respectively. Rupp, a transfer from Minnesota Duluth, is averaging 2.56 kills per set, and is hitting .324 on the season. Pilney, who is averaging 2.41 kills per set and hitting .308, is also tied for second in service aces (21), and leads the team with 69 total blocks, averaging 1.1 blocks per set.

Mya Krystosek is fourth on the team with 134 kills, averaging 2.13 kills per set. The fifth-year outside hitter is second in digs (182) and digs per set (2.89), while leading the team in service aces with 23 on the year.

Fellow fifth-year Ashley Peltier is fifth on the team with 118 kills. Peltier has four matches with double-digit kills, and reached a season-high 13 kills against Jamestown.

Freshman middle blocker Lindsay Kruse is sixth on the team with 116 kills hitting a team-best .360. Kruse has five matches with nine or more kills and five matches hitting .500 or better, while ranking second in blocks with 56.

Sophomore libero Ashlynn Schroeder is currently pacing the Mustangs defensively with 276 digs and  4.38 digs per set. Schroeder has 15+ digs in 10 matches this year including two matches with 25 digs (9/3 v. Missouri Western, 10/10 v. Northern State).

Junior Paige Steinmetz ranks fourth in digs with 166, and a digs per set ratio of 2.63. Steinmetz has seven matches with double-digit digs, and three matches with 14, while also tied for second in service aces (21).

Freshman setter Tatem Schmidt currently leads the Mustangs with 408 assists and an assist per set ratio of 6.48. Schmidt is also third on the team in digs with 170. The Huxley, Iowa, native has had 20 or more assists in 15 of 18 matches, and racked up 26 digs against Missouri Western.

Senior setter Sydney Thein has collected 340 assists and 5.40 assists per set. Thein has eight matches with 20+ assists and four matches with eight or more digs.

Freshman Reese Drake is also tied with Pilney and Steinmetz with 21 service aces.

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS

SMSU rises one spot to No. 11 in the recent AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, released Monday afternoon.

SMSU is one of five teams from the NSIC represented in the top 25. For the sixth week in a row, Wayne State remains at No. 2, while Concordia-St. Paul jumps up one spot to No. 7. St. Cloud State after a 2-0 weekend rises three spots to No. 13, while Minnesota Duluth falls to No. 17 after being defeated by Minnesota State and SCSU.

Following the AVCA poll released on Oct. 12, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 261 of the last 262 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.

SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS  

The Mustangs have begun the 2026 season with team and individual placements amongst the NCAA statistical leader boards.

SMSU is ranked first in assists per set (13.76) and kills per set (14.59).

The Mustangs are also ranked No. 12 in attacks per set (38.56), No. 21 in digs per set (17.59), No. 22 in Match W/L percentage (.833), and No. 25 in hitting percentage (.258).

Natalie Pilney is ranked No. 38 in blocks per set (1.1) Lindsay Kruse is ranked at No. 57 in hitting percentage (.360).

SMSU IN THE CONFERENCE RANKS  

The Mustangs have begun the 2026 season with team and individual placements amongst the NSIC statistical leader boards (conference matches only).

SMSU is ranked first assists per set (13.66), kills per set (14.39) and points per set (18.47), while ranking third in service aces per set (1.95), digs per set (17.24) and fifth in blocks per set (2.17)

Mya Krystosek ranks fourth in service aces per set (.44) while Natalie Pilney and Paige Steinmetz rank No. 10 and No. 11, both averaging .39. Pilney also ranks fourth in blocks per set (1.15). Ashlynn Schroeder is sixth in digs per set (4.41). Tatem Schmidt is No. 11 in assists per set (6.2).

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  

Tyler Boddy is in his fifth season as head coach in 2026 and has a career record of 105-29 overall, including 66-22 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 nine NCAA tournaments, including finishing as NCAA national runners-up in 2014. SMSU has a combined record of 330-93 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.

NSIC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

SMSU's Ashlynn Schroeder was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, with an announcement coming from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference office on Monday, Oct. 12.

Schroeder led SMSU defensively with 48 digs in wins against Jamestown and Northern State last weekend, averaging an NSIC best 5.33 digs per set. Schroeder recorded 23 digs and four assists in a four-set win against UJ on Friday, before tying her career-high mark with 25 digs in a five-set win over NSU on Saturday.

This is Schroeder's first Defensive Player of the Week award, and the first individual weekly award the Mustangs have received this season.

PREVIEWING MINNESOTA CROOKSTON

2026 Record: 3-16, 1-10 NSIC

Head Coach: Kathleen Rustad, 1st season

NSIC Preseason Rank: 15

The Golden Eagles finished the 2025 season with a record of 6-22, and 0-20 in NSIC play. New head coach Kathleen Rustad is in her debut season at UMC after a 136-35 record as head coach of Class AA Hawley High School.

Junior outside hitter Madison Carsten leads the Golden Eagles offensively with 178 kills, averaging 2.87 kills per set, as well as leading defensively with 184 digs. Setter Ellery Ehresmann directs the offense with 334 assists, averaging 5.39 assists per set, while adding 72 digs. Outside hitter Lexi Scharold has recorded 116 kills and 39 total blocks, leading UMC.

PREVIEWING MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD

2026 Record: 11-9, 4-7 NSIC

Head Coach: Kari Thompson, 4th season

NSIC Preseason Rank: 11

The Dragons finished the 2025 season with a 14-15 overall record and a 7-13 mark in NSIC play, improving their overall win total by five victories from the previous season. 

Senior outside hitter Raiah Mandell was named MSUM's 2026 Player to Watch andl currently leads the team with 209 kills, averaging 2.82 kills per set. Senior outside hitter Maci Martini ranks second with 175 kills and leads MSUM with 254 digs. Senior setter Madi Colby leads the Dragons with 375 assists

ON THE HORIZON

SMSU goes on the road next weekend facing a pair of NSIC North schools with major conference tournament seeding implications.

The Mustangs face No. 17 ranked Minnesota Duluth inside Romano Gymnasium on Friday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m., before facing Bemidji State (currently the eighth and final NSIC tournament seed) the next day at 2 p.m.