THIS WEEK

The No. 14 ranked SMSU volleyball team, after beginning NSIC play last weekend, hosts its first games inside the PE Gym in 2026.

SMSU opens play with a match on Friday against No. 10 ranked St. Cloud State at 6 p.m.

The Mustangs then face Minnesota State the following day at 2 p.m. In honor of 'Alumni Weekend', SMSU will be hosting a 'Gameday Round Up' at 12 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 St. Cloud State for the 56th time on Friday with the Mustangs holding a 28-27 advantage over the Huskies.

SCSU has won the last three meetings against SMSU, however, the Mustangs have won the last two matchups played in Marshall. Tyler Boddy holds a 2-4 record against SCSU as SMSU head coach.

The Mustangs will meet the Minnesota State Mavericks for the 65th time on Saturday with MSU holding a 33-31 lead in the series.

The Mavericks have gotten the better of the Mustangs in the last two matchups, but the Mustangs have not lost in Marshall against MSU since 2014 (6-0 in that span). Coach Boddy is 3-2 against MSU as head coach.

RECAP OF LAST WEEK

The Mustangs began NSIC play last weekend, dropping a four-set match against No. 5 ranked Concordia-St. Paul and winning a four-set contest against Winona State.

Leah Jones led the way last weekend with 28 kills in the two matches while hitting .295, including a 17 kill performance against Winona State hitting .366. 

Mollie Rupp finished second with 20 kills. Mya Krystosek and Natalie Pilney each finished the weekend with 19 kills.

Freshman Tatem Schmidt paced the Mustang offense with 59 assists in total, including a season-high 31 assists against WSU.

Ashlynn Schroeder had 37 digs, including 20 digs against CSP, her second match of 20+ digs this season.

MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS

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.

The Mustangs have collected 445 kills over the first nine matches with a team hitting percentage of .269. SMSU is holding teams to a hitting percentage of .154. 

Senior outside hitter Leah Jones leads the Mustangs with 98 kills and 3.27 kills per set. The Marshall, Minn., native has five matches of 10 or more kills.

Natalie Pilney and Mya Krystosek are second and third on the team in kills respectively. Pilney, a junior middle blocker, is second on the team with a .339 hitting percentage, and 25 total blocks. Krystosek, a senior outside hitter is second on the team in digs with 97 and digs per set (3.23).

Freshman middle blocker Lindsay Kruse is tied for fourth on the team with 68 kills hitting a team-best .380. Kruse has four matches with nine or more kills and four matches hitting .400 or better.

Minnesota Duluth transfer Mollie Rupp is tied for fourth on the team with 68 kills and third with a kills per set ratio of 2.34.

Sophomore libero Ashlynn Schroeder is currently pacing the Mustangs defensively with 132 digs and  4.40 digs per set. Schroeder has 15+ digs in five matches this year including a 25 dig match against Missouri Western.

Freshman setter Tatem Schmidt currently leads the Mustangs with 213 assists and an assist per set ratio of 7.10. Schmidt is also third on the team in digs with 90. The Huxley, Iowa, native has eight matches of 20 or more assists, and racked up 26 digs against Missouri Western.

Both Schmidt and freshman Reese Drake lead the team in service aces with 11 a piece.

Junior setter Sydney Thein has collected 154 assists and 5.13 assists per set. Thein has three matches with 20+ assists and five matches with five or more digs.

MUSTANGS HOSTING GAMEDAY ROUND UP SATURDAY AT NOON

On Saturday, SMSU Athletics and the SMSU volleyball program will be hosting a 'Gameday Round Up' at the PE/BA newly paved parking lot beginning at 12 p.m.

Tailgating and parking in the lot opens at 11 a.m. and will be a first-come, first-serve basis with no reserved spots.

'Gameday Round Up' activities include inflatables, music, and yard games, as well as a food truck from El Rancho Restaurant in Marshall, and screen-printed shirts from Borch's Sporting Goods.

SMSU AND THE NSIC IN THE POLLS

SMSU dropped two spots to No. 14 in the recent AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, released Monday afternoon. 

The Mustangs are one of five teams from the NSIC represented in the top 25. Wayne State remains at No. 2, while CSP remains at No. 5, having been in a tie for fifth last week. St. Cloud State falls two spots to No. 10 and Minnesota Duluth enters the top 25 for the first time this season at No. 23.

Following the AVCA poll released on Sep. 14, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 257 of the last 258 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 (14.0), second in attacks per set (39.8) and fourth in kills per set (14.83).

The Mustangs are also ranked No. 11 in digs per set (18.47), No. 26 in hitting percentage (.269), and No. 32 in Match W/L percentage (.778).

Lindsay Kruse is ranked at No. 51 in hitting percentage (.380).

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  

Tyler Boddy is in his fifth season as head coach in 2026 and has a career record of 97-28 overall, including 58-21 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 NO. 10 ST. CLOUD STATE

2026 Record: 7-3, 1-1 NSIC

Head Coach: Chad Braegelmann, 12th season

NSIC Preseason Rank: 3

St. Cloud State Notes

The Huskies finished the 2025 season with a 28-7 overall record and an 18-2 mark in NSIC play, winning their second consecutive NSIC Tournament championship in the process. St. Cloud State advanced to the NCAA Division II Central Region championship match, losing to Concordia-St. Paul.

St. Cloud State returns four starters from last season, led by senior outside hitter Shelby Kimm and junior setter Braya LaPlant, both of whom earned AVCA Second Team All-America honors in 2025. Kimm leads the Huskies with 103 kills while averaging 3.32 kills per set. LaPlant also paces SCSU with 325 assists averaging 10.83 assists per set.  Junior libero Laurin Hamann leads the Huskies defensively with 149 digs, while Kimm is second with 116.

PREVIEWING MINNESOTA STATE

2026 Record: 2-8, 0-2 NSIC

Head Coach: Corey Phelps, 7th season

NSIC Preseason Rank: 6

Minnesota State Notes

The Mavericks finished the 2025 season with a 23-6 overall record and a 15-5 mark in NSIC play, finishing fourth in the conference standings.

Minnesota State is led by their setter Jadyn Lester, who returns after earning First Team All-NSIC honors in 2025. The native of Rochester, Minn., ended last season with 1,067 assists and an assist per set ratio of 11.0, and currently  leads the Mavericks with 313 assists. She is also second in digs with 86. Junior middle blocker Avery Rosenberg also returns after earning Second Team All-NSIC honors in 2025. Rosenberg is currently third in kills with 78 while hitting a qualifying team best .328. Junior outside hitter Lily Riese leads MSU with 86 kills, with four matches of double digit kills.

ON THE HORIZON

SMSU continues NSIC play with both a home and away match next week.

The Mustangs face Sioux Falls inside the Stewart Center on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m. SMSU then hosts Augustana for the SAAC Game of the Year on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 2 p.m., against Augustana.