THIS WEEK
The No. 15 ranked SMSU volleyball team faces a trio of NSIC schools this week in the penultimate set of matches in the 2026 regular season.
The Mustangs face No. 2 ranked Wayne State on the road on Tuesday at 6 p.m., before hosting Winona State on Friday at 6 p.m., and No. 9 ranked Concordia-St. Paul the following day at 3 p.m.
Friday's match will be recognized as 'Senior Night' while Saturday's match will be honored as 'Parents' Day'.
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 Wayne State for the 68th time with the Wildcats leading the series 34-32-1.
The Mustangs are 1-4 in their last five matches against WSC, however the lone win was on the road in 2024. Tyler Boddy holds a 2-4 record against WSC as SMSU head coach.
The Mustangs meet Winona State for the 109th time on Friday with SMSU holding a 73-34-1 record all time.
The 'Stangs have won four of their last five against the Warriors, however in the last six mathces played in the PE Gym, the two teams are split 3-3. Coach Boddy holds a 6-1 record against WSU as Mustangs head coach.Â
SMSU faces meets Concordia-St. Paul for the 75th time on Saturday with CSP holding a 45-29 lead in the series.
The Golden Bears have won six of the last seven in the series, but the Mustangs won the last meeting played in Marshall in five sets last season. Tyler Boddy has a record of 1-6 as SMSU head coach against CSP.
RECAP OF LAST WEEK
The Mustangs split a pair of matches on the road, losing in three sets to Minnesota Duluth on Friday, before sweeping Bemidji State the next afternoon.
Leah Jones led the Mustangs with 19 kills across six sets, hitting .292 across the two matches.
Natalie Pilney added 14 kills (four vs. UMD, 10 vs. BSU) while leading the NSIC averaging 1.67 blocks per set.Â
Sydney Thein paced the Mustangs offense with 33 assists (14 vs. UMD, 19 vs. BSU) adding 12 digs. Tatem Schmidt added 26 assists and nine digs.
A week after being named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, Ashlynn Schroeder totaled 32 digs, with 12 against UMD, and 20 against BSU.
The Mustangs as a team hit .200 in the two matches combined.
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 1098 kills over the first 22 matches with a team hitting percentage of .265. SMSU is holding teams to a hitting percentage of .173.Â
Senior outside hitter Leah Jones leads the Mustangs with 241 kills and 3.21 kills per set. The Marshall, Minn., native has 12 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 182 and 181 respectively. Rupp, a transfer from Minnesota Duluth, is averaging 2.46 kills per set, and is hitting .304 on the season. Pilney, who is averaging 2.41 kills per set and hitting .321, is also third in service aces (24), and leads the team with 81 total blocks, averaging 1.08 blocks per set.
Mya Krystosek is fourth on the team with 153 kills, averaging 2.13 kills per set. The fifth-year outside hitter is second in digs (207) and digs per set (2.88), while leading the team in service aces with 31 on the year.
Fellow fifth-year Ashley Peltier is fifth on the team with 140 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 135 kills hitting a team-best .359. Kruse has five matches with nine or more kills and six matches hitting .500 or better, while ranking second in blocks with 63.
Sophomore libero Ashlynn Schroeder is currently pacing the Mustangs defensively with 345 digs and 4.6 digs per set. Schroeder has 15+ digs in 13 matches this year including two matches with 25 digs (9/3 v. Missouri Western, 10/10 v. Northern State).
Junior Paige Steinmetz ranks third in digs with 199, and a digs per set ratio of 2.65. Steinmetz has eight matches with double-digit digs, and three matches with 14.
Freshman setter Tatem Schmidt currently leads the Mustangs with 482 assists and an assist per set ratio of 6.43. Schmidt is also fourth on the team in digs with 187. The Huxley, Iowa, native has had 20 or more assists in 17 of 22 matches, and racked up 26 digs against Missouri Western.
Senior setter Sydney Thein has collected 412 assists and 5.49 assists per set. Thein has nine matches with 20+ assists and five matches with eight or more digs.
SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS
SMSU fell five spots to No. 15 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 eighth week in a row, Wayne State remains at No. 2, while Concordia-St. Paul falls to No. 9. St. Cloud State rises two spots No. 13 after defeating CSP in a non-conference matchup, while Minnesota Duluth climbed one spot to No. 19. Northern State is receiving votes.
Following the AVCA poll released on Oct. 26, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 263 of the last 264 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.
SMSU IN THE NCAA POWER INDEX RANKINGS
SMSU is listed No. 5 in the initial NCAA Power Index (NPI) Central Region rankings released on Monday morning.
The NPI is the new metric NCAA tournament teams will be selected in all Division II sports for the 2026-27 season. At-large teams will be selected using the NPI, the system that houses the division's statistical data and objectively applies the selection criteria to the data based on the sport committee's established weighted criteria.
NPI rankings will be announced Nov. 2 and Nov. 9. NPI rankings will be pushed daily starting with the third ranking (Nov. 2). The NPI rankings used for selections will be posted after the selection show airs on NCAA.com on Nov. 15 at 9 p.m. (CT).
SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS Â
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 (13.83) and kills per set (14.64).
The Mustangs are also ranked No. 17 in attacks per set (38.37), No. 20 in digs per set (17.55), No. 21 in hitting percentage (.265), and No. 24 in Match W/L percentage (.818).
Natalie Pilney is ranked No. 48 in blocks per set (1.08). Lindsay Kruse is ranked No. 52 in hitting percentage (.359).Â
SMSU IN THE CONFERENCE RANKS Â
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 (13.77), kills per set (14.51) points per set (18.63), and aces per set (2.0) while ranking third in digs per set (17.26), fourth in hitting percentage (.260) and fourth in blocks per set (2.12)
Mya Krystosek ranks third in service aces per set (.52) while Paige Steinmetz and Natalie Pilney rank eighth and No. 12, averaging .4 and .36 respectively. Pilney also ranks fifth in blocks per set (1.11). Ashlynn Schroeder is fifth in digs per set (4.72). Lindsay Kruse is eighth in hitting percentage (.339) and Leah Jones ranks at No. 11 in kills per set (3.23)
NSIC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
SMSU's Ashlynn Schroeder was once again named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 19 for her performances against Minnesota Crookston and Minnesota State Moorhead.
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 was Schroeder's second Defensive Player of the Week award, and the second individual weekly award the Mustangs have received this season.
HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY Â
Tyler Boddy is in his fifth season as head coach in 2026 and has a career record of 108-30 overall, including 69-23 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.Â
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 333-94 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.
PREVIEWING NO. 2 WAYNE STATE
2026 Record: 24-1, 16-0 NSIC
Head Coach: Scott Kneifl, 22nd season
NSIC Preseason Rank: 2
The Wildcats enter the latest update ranked No. 2 nationally with a 24-1 overall record and an undefeated 15-0 mark in NSIC play. Wayne State has earned notable victories over nationally ranked opponents, including No. 2 Tampa, No. 8 St. Cloud State, No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul in five sets and swept the Mustangs earlier this season.
Junior middle hitter Chloe Hanel earned First Team All-NSIC, AVCA All-Central Region First Team and AVCA Third Team All-America honors in 2025. She has continued to be a key contributor at the net, recently recording 12 kills in Wayne State's sweep of Minnesota Crookston.Â
Sophomore outside hitter Delaney Miller, who also earned major All-America recognition as a freshman, led the Wildcats with 13 kills in that match. Setter Molly Romano added 37 assists in the sweep.
PREVIEWING WINONA STATE
2026 Record: 5-18, 4-11 NSIC
Head Coach: Tricia Melfy, 1st season
NSIC Preseason Rank: T-9
The Warriors enter the latest update with a 5-18 overall record and a 4-11 mark in NSIC play. Winona State has earned conference victories over Sioux Falls, Minnesota Crookston, Minot State and the UMary.
Junior outside hitter Abby Ongna leads the Warriors offensively with 246 kills, including 14 in the most recent match against Northern State. Sophomore outside hitter Zoe Haan contributed 16 kills in that match.Â
Senior libero Lily Shields led Winona State with 19 digs, while setter Sylvia Marlock recorded 23 assists. Middle blocker Callie Carr also contributed offensively, hitting .471 against Northern State.
PREVIEWING NO. 9 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
2026 Record: 18-5, 13-2 NSIC
Head Coach: Brady Starkey, 23rd season
NSIC Preseason Rank: 1
The Warriors enter the latest update with a 18-5 overall record and a 13-2 mark in NSIC play. CSP has earned victories over MSU Denver, West Texas A&M, and defeated SMSU in four sets earlier this season.
Junior outside hitter Makenna Nold earned AVCA Division II National Player of the Year, AVCA Central Region Player of the Year and NSIC Player of the Year honors in 2025. She currently leads the Golden Bears with 366 kills, averaging 4.07 kills per set, and has recorded 252 digs and 66 total blocks.Â
Senior middle blocker Mehlayna Straub returns after earning AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and First Team All-NSIC honors in 2025. She has contributed to Concordia's strong front-row defense as the team has recorded 186 total blocks through last weekend's matches.
ON THE HORIZON
SMSU concludes NSIC regular season play next weekend on the road.
The Mustangs face Minnesota State on Friday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m., before meeting No. 13 ranked St. Cloud State the following afternoon at 2 p.m.
