THIS WEEK

The No. 12 ranked SMSU volleyball team, after starting the season 6-1 in non-conference matches, begins NSIC action this weekend on the road.

SMSU opens play with a match on Friday against T-No 5 ranked Concordia-St. Paul at 6 p.m.

The Mustangs then face Winona State the following day at 4 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 Concordia-St. Paul for the 74th time on Friday with the Golden Bears holding a 44-29 advantage over the Mustangs.

SMSU's five-set win in Marshall over CSP last season marked the end of a five-match losing streak dating back to 2022.

The Mustangs will meet the Winona State Warriors for the 108th time on Saturday with SMSU holding a 72-34-1 lead in the series.

SMSU is 5-1 in their last six meetings with WSU and are 4-1 in their last five matches played in Winona, Minn.

RECAP OF LAST WEEK

The Mustangs began the Fairfield Inn & Suites Griffon Classic with a hard fought four-set defeat to No. 10 Missouri Western State before sweeping Rockhurst, Northwest Missouri State, and Oklahoma Christian.

Leah Jones led the way last weekend with 49 kills in the four matches, including a 15 kill performance against Rockhurst hitting .483. 

Mollie Rupp finished second with 30 kills hitting .324 in total. Mya Krystosek had three matches with double digit assists and had 25 kills.

Freshman Tatem Schmidt paced the Mustang offense with four matches of 20+ assists, and had a 25-assist, 26-dig performance against Missouri Western.

Leah Jones, Natalie Pilney, and Ashlynn Schroeder were named as All-tournament team members. Schroeder was also named 'Libero of the Tournament'.

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 329 kills over the first seven matches with a team hitting percentage of .276. SMSU is holding teams to a hitting percentage of .121. 

Senior outside hitter Leah Jones leads the Mustangs with 70 kills and 3.18 kills per set. The Marshall, Minn., native has three matches of 10 or more kills.

Freshman middle blocker Lindsay Kruse is third on the team with 52 kills hitting a team-best .396. Kruse has three matches with nine kills and three matches hitting .400 or better.

Natalie Pilney and Mya Krystosek are second and fourth on the team in kills respectively. Pilney, a junior middle blocker, is second on the team with a .381 hitting percentage, and leads the team with 22 total blocks. Krystosek, a senior outside hitter is second on the team in digs with 76 and digs per set (3.45).

Minnesota Duluth transfer Mollie Rupp is fifth on the team with 48 kills and fourth with a kills per set ratio of 2.29.

Sophomore libero Ashlynn Schroeder is currently pacing the Mustangs defensively with 95 digs and  4.32 digs per set. Schroeder has 15+ digs in three matches this year including a 25 dig match against Missouri Western.

Freshman setter Tatem Schmidt currently leads the Mustangs with 154 assists and an assist per set ratio of 7.0. Schmidt is also third on the team in digs with 63. The Huxley, Iowa, native has six matches of 20 or more assists, and had 26 digs against Missouri Western.

Junior setter Sydney Thein has collected 113 assists and 5.14 assists per set. Thein has two matches with 22 assists and three matches with five or more digs.

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 dropped two spots to No. 12 in the recent AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, released Monday afternoon. 

The Mustangs are one of four teams from the NSIC represented in the top 25. Wayne State remains at No. 2, while Concordia-St. Paul falls to a tie for fifth, and last week's No. 1 St. Cloud State falls seven spots to No. 8. Minnesota Duluth is receiving votes. 

Following the AVCA poll released on Sep. 7, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 256 of the last 257 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 fourth in kills per set (14.95), fifth in assists per set (13.95), and No. 11 in attacks per set (39.05).

The Mustangs are also ranked No. 13 in digs per set (18.23), No. 24 in hitting percentage (.276), No. 25 in opponent hitting percentage (.121) and No. 32 in Match W/L percentage (.857).

Lindsay Kruse is ranked at No. 47 in hitting percentage (.396).

HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY  

Tyler Boddy is in his fifth season as head coach in 2026 and has a career record of 96-27 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 T-NO. 5 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL

2026 Record: 5-2, 0-0 NSIC

Head Coach: Brady Starkey, 23rd season

NSIC Preseason Rank: 1

Concordia-St. Paul Notes

The Golden Bears finished the 2025 season with a 31-6 overall record and a 19-1 mark in NSIC play, claiming a share of their 15th NSIC regular season championship. Concordia-St. Paul advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship match after winning the NCAA Central Region title.

CSP returns a strong veteran core in 2026, led by junior outside hitter Makenna Nold and senior middle blocker Mehlayna Straub. Nold was named the 2025 AVCA Division II National Player of the Year after earning First Team All-America honors, and was named as the 2026 NSIC Preseason Player of the Year. Nold finished second in D2 in 2025 with 563 kills and No. 11 with 4.4 kills per set ratio. Straub returns for her senior season after earning AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and First Team All-NSIC honors in 2025 when she recorded 361 kills and 94 total blocks.

PREVIEWING WINONA STATE

2026 Record: 1-5, 0-0 NSIC

Head Coach: Tricia Melfy, 1st season

NSIC Preseason Rank: T-9

Winona State Notes

The Warriors finished the 2025 season with a 16-12 overall record and an 11-9 mark in NSIC play.

Winona State is led by junior outside hitter Abby Ongna, who returns after appearing in all 28 matches in 2025. Ongna ranked second on the team with 285 kills, averaging 3.00 kills per set, and was selected as Winona State's 2026 NSIC 'Player to Watch'.

Senior outside hitter Kenna Kornely also returns as one of the Warriors' key offensive threats, while junior Hailee Peters currently leads the Warriors in assists with 142. Peters has two matches of 30+ assists.

Winona State enters 2026 under first-year head coach Tricia Melfy, who previously led East Stroudsburg and Fort Lewis to NCAA Division II postseason appearances.

ON THE HORIZON

SMSU returns to Marshall next weekend to host their first matches of the season during 'Alumni Weekend'.

The Mustangs face No. 8 ranked St. Cloud State on Friday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m., before facing off with Minnesota State on Saturday, Sept. 19., at 2 p.m.

SMSU volleyball will be hosting a 'Gameday Round Up' before next Saturday's match against MSU from 12-2.