BURNSVILLE, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team was picked to finish fourth place in the 2026 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll on Tuesday.
 
Regular season co-champions Concordia St. Paul were selected as the preseason favorite earning 220 point and eleven first place finishes (coaches cannot vote for their own school). Wayne State received 207 points and three first place votes finishing in second place, while St. Cloud State earned third place, receiving the last two first place votes and 199 points. The Mustangs received 177 points in fourth place, and Sioux Falls rounded out the top five with 158 points.
 
CSP's Makenna Nold was selected as the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year.
 
SMSU, under fifth-year head coach Tyler Boddy, return 11 letter winners from a team that won 21 games in 2025, finishing tied for fifth in the NSIC with a 14-6 record. The 2026 team contains three seniors, four juniors, three sophomores, two redshirt freshmen, and five true freshmen.
 
"We are excited about the level of competition that we will have on both sides of the net in our practices," Boddy said. "We have a great group of returners, who know what it takes to play in our conference, and we have new players who can jump right in and contribute to the court and in the classroom. Once again, the NSIC will be stacked with tons of talent, and we are looking forward to the season!"
 
Mustang senior outside hitter, Leah Jones (Marshall, Minn.), was named an NSIC 'Player to Watch'. Jones earned All-NSIC and AVCA All-Central Region first team honors last season earning 401 kills, and 3.89 kills per set, ranking second in the conference in both. Jones is currently 16th all-time in kills for SMSU volleyball with 1,054 and is one of 18 players with 1,00 kills in her career.
 
"Leah is the definition of what it means to be a Mustang" said Boddy. "She is hard-working, coachable, determined and is a great leader and teammate. Leah has gone above and beyond what is asked of her as a student-athlete and is seen as a leader across the athletic department. We are excited about Leah's senior year and all of the great qualities she models for her teammates."
 
Junior setter Sydney Thein returns after receiving second team All-NSIC last year. Thein had 1209 assists, which ranked third in the NSIC. Senior middle blocker Ashley Peltier also received second team All-NSIC honors last season after her 278-kill campaign, ranking second on the team while hitting .294. Senior outside hitter Mya Krystosek was third in both kills (231) and digs (239) in 2025, while junior Natalie Pilney led the team in blocks with 103 and adding 216 kills.
 
SMSU begins the regular season in Pensacola, Fla., in the West Florida Invitational on Aug. 28. The Mustangs' first NSIC contest is on Sept. 11 against preseason favorites Concordia-St. Paul, and SMSU's first home match takes place on Sept. 18 against St. Cloud State.