BURNSVILLE, Minn. – For the second week in a row, Southwest Minnesota State University women's volleyball player Ashlynn Schroeder was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, with an announcement coming from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference office on Monday.

Schroeder led SMSU defensively with 37 digs in sweeps against Minnesota Crookston and Minnesota State Moorhead, averaging 6.17 digs per set, good for second best in the NSIC. Schroeder recorded 17 digs and an assist against the Golden Eagles on Friday, before adding 20 digs and four assists against the Dragons the next day.

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

SMSU, holding a 17-3 record and an 11-2 NSIC record, was listed as No. 5 in the initial NCAA Power Index (NPI) Central Region rankings on Monday morning. The Mustangs are on the road this weekend, facing Minnesota Duluth on Friday, and Bemidji State the following day.