THIS WEEK

The No. 10 ranked SMSU volleyball team, after starting the season 3-0 in Pensacola, Fla., is on the road this week in St. Joesph, Mo., competing in the Fairfield Inn & Suites Griffon Volleyball Classic.

SMSU opens play with a match on Thursday against tournament hosts, and No. 11 ranked, Missouri Western State at 6 p.m.

The Mustangs then face off twice on Friday, first against Rockhurst (Mo.) at 11:30 a.m., and Northwest Missouri State  at 4:30 p.m.

SMSU finishes the week on Saturday with a match against Oklahoma Christian at 11:30 a.m.

All matches are listed in central time.

MATCH COVERAGE

Live stats and video for all matches will be available at SMSUmustangs.com

More information on the tournament can be found at gogriffons.com

Stay up to date on the Mustangs throughout the weekend by downloading the official SMSU Athletics app.

SERIES HISTORY

SMSU will play Missouri Western State for the 11th time on Thursday, with the Mustangs holding a 7-3 advantage in the series. The last meeting between the two occurred in 2022, Tyler Boddy's first season as head coach, with the Mustangs winning 3-2.

The Mustangs will face the Rockhurst for the sixth time on Friday. The Hawks hold a 3-2 advantage in the series, despite losing to the Mustangs in 2022 and 2024.

SMSU faces Northwest Missouri State for the eighth time on Friday, and the first time in 14 years. The Mustangs have swept the Bearcats in each of the last four meetings.

Oklahoma Christian and SMSU will meet for the first time on Saturday morning.

RECAP OF LAST WEEK

The Mustangs began the 2026 season last week in Pensacola, Fla., sweeping Wheeling (W. Va) twice, and sweeping Spring Hill (Ala.)

Mya Krystosek and Natalie Pilney led the team with 25 kills each. Krystosek also led the team in digs with 32, including a 12 kill, 15 dig performance against Spring Hill. Pilney led qualified hitters with a hitting percentage of .444.

Freshman Lindsay Kruse had a stellar weekend in her collegiate debut, leading the Mustangs with 12 total blocks, and leading the NSIC in blocks per set (1.33). Kruse also added 24 kills on .413 hitting.

Freshman Tatem Schmidt and Sydney Thein led the team assist-wise, with Schmidt tallying 60 assists, and two matches of 20+ assists. Thein had 22 assists against Wheeling on Saturday.

After the tournament, Krystosek, Kruse, and Ashley Peltier were named to the all-tournament team.

2026 OUTLOOK

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

SMSU senior outside hitter, Leah Jones, 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, both ranking second in the NSIC. Jones currently ranks 16th all-time in kills for SMSU volleyball, and is one of 18 players with 1,000 kills in her career.

Seniors Ashley Peltier and Mya Krystosek begin their final collegiate seasons at SMSU. Peltier, an All-NSIC second team selection in 2025, finished second on the team in kills (278) and total blocks (75). Krystosek tallied 231 kills and 239 digs, both third highest on the team.

Junior setter Sydney Thein returns after receiving second team All-NSIC honors last season. Thein had 1209 assists, which ranked third in the NSIC, as well as being named 'Setter of the Week' by the conference twice.

Natalie Pilney, Kennedy Drake, and Paige Steinmetz all return after successful sophomore campaigns last season. Pilney, one of three players to start every match in 2025, hit .325 while leading the team in blocks with 103. Drake was one of three players to appear in all 104 sets last season, finishing with 235 digs, averaging 2.26 per set. Steinmentz played in all 28 matches, leading the team in service aces (37).

Sophomore Ashlynn Schroeder, after appearing in 25 of 28 matches as a true freshman, looks to make a larger impact defensively for the Mustangs.

SMSU VOTED FOURTH IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL

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

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.

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS

SMSU moved up four spots in the week one AVCA Division II Coaches' Poll, released on Monday afternoon. 

SMSU is one of four teams from the NSIC in the recent poll, with all four teams ranked inside the top 10. St. Cloud State moves up four spots to No. 1, while Wayne State jumps up seven spots to No. 2, and Concordia-St. Paul moves down two spots to No. 3. Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State are both receiving votes. 

Following the AVCA poll released on Aug. 17, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 255 of the last 256 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.

SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS  

The Mustangs finished the 2025 season with team and individual placements amongst the NCAA statistical leader boards.

SMSU ranked No. 18 in hitting percentage (.255) and T-No. 41 in W-L percentage (.750).

The Mustangs also finished ninth in assists per set (13.47) and No. 12 in kills per set (14.3). 

Sydney Thein ended the year fifth in assists per set (11.62) and No. 17 in total assists (1209).

Leah Jones finished No. 30 in kills per set (3.89) and T-No. 45 in total kills (401).

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  

Tyler Boddy is in his fifth season as head coach in 2026 and has a career record of 93-26 overall, including 57-20 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 338-96 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 MISSOURI WESTERN STATE

2026 Record: 4-0, 0-0 MIAA

Conference: Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA)

Head Coach: Jessica Fey, 5th season

MIAA Preseason Rank: 3

Missouri Western State Notes

The Griffons finished the 2025 season with a 21-8 overall record and a 13-3 mark in MIAA play, earning a share of the MIAA regular season championship. Missouri Western advanced to the NCAA Division II Central Regional and finished the season ranked No. 17 in the final AVCA Division II Poll.

Missouri Western State returns four All-MIAA honorees from a season ago, led by senior right-side hitter Taylor Russell and senior outside hitter Holly Heldt. Russell earned First Team All-MIAA honors in 2025 while also being named AVCA First Team All-Central Region and an AVCA All-American honorable mention selection. Heldt earned Second Team All-MIAA honors last season, while senior libero/defensive specialist Anna Weberg was also a Second Team All-MIAA selection.

PREVIEWING ROCKHURST

2025 Record: 1-3, 0-0 GLVC

Conference: Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC)

Head Coach: Trent Jones, 7th season

GLVC Preseason Rank: 2

Rockhurst Notes

The Hawks finished the 2025 season with a 22-11 overall record and an 11-2 mark in GLVC play. Rockhurst advanced to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional, defeating Ohio Dominican in the opening round before falling to Ferris State in the regional semifinals.

Rockhurst returns a strong veteran group in 2026, led by junior middle hitter Delaney Hope. Hope earned AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, D2CCA All-Region First Team and First Team All-GLVC honors following her sophomore season. Senior setter Molly Trachta also returns after earning Second Team All-GLVC honors in 2025.

Rockhurst was picked second in the 2026 GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving two first-place votes and 153 total points.

PREVIEWING NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE

2025 Record: 3-1, 0-0 MIAA

Conference: Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA)

Head Coach: Amy Woerth, 15th season

MIAA Preseason Rank: 9

Northwest Missouri State Notes

The Bearcats finished the 2025 season with a 9-16 overall record and a 3-13 mark in MIAA play, tying for 10th in the conference.

Northwest Missouri is led by junior outside hitter Abby Bulthuis, who returns as the team's leading returning player in kills after recording 162 kills and averaging 2.31 kills per set in 2025. Junior libero Ellery Luhring also returns after leading the Bearcats with 200 digs last season, averaging 2.33 digs per set.

PREVIEWING OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN

2025 Record: 3-1, 0-0 LSC

Conference: Lone Star Conference (LSC)

Head Coach: Asa Freeman, 4th season

LSC Preseason Rank: 7

Oklahoma Christian Notes

The Eagles finished the 2025 season with a 19-10 overall record and an 11-6 mark in Lone Star Conference play, finishing seventh in the league standings.

Oklahoma Christian is led by junior outside hitter Chloe Jones, who returns as the team's leading offensive returner after recording 295 kills and averaging 2.76 kills per set in 2025. She was selected to the 2026 LSC Players to Watch list. Sophomore defensive specialist Macey Nehring also returns after leading the Eagles with 433 digs last season, averaging 4.05 digs per set.

ON THE HORIZON

SMSU begins NSIC play next weekend on the road with a pair of matches.

The Mustangs face No. 3 ranked Concordia-St. Paul on Friday, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m., before facing off with Winona State on Saturday, Sept. 12., at 4 p.m.

SMSU's home debut falls on Friday, Sept. 18 against No. 1 ranked St. Cloud State.