LAST TIME OUT
- The Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team (15-6, 8-6 NSIC) defeated the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons (13-9, 7-7 NSIC) last Saturday afternoon in three sets 25-21, 25-23, 25-20.
- The Mustangs were led in kills by Leah Jones with 14, who also had six digs. Ashley Peltier was the other Mustang in double digit kills with 10, while hitting .261 on the match. Karli Arkell added eight kills and hit .238. Sydney Thein led the team in both assists and digs with 34 and 13 respectively. Natalie Pilney led the team in blocks with six solo blocks, the most by a Mustang this season.
- SMSU as a team hit .179 on the match (41-19-123) while the Dragons, who were led in kills by Raiah Mandell with eight, hit .115 (34-21-115).
SMSU IN "RED OUT" MATCHES
- "Red Out" began when former head coach Terry Culhane, who suffered a heart attack in 2010, felt that his experience offered a unique opportunity for his volleyball program to help educate the public about this deadly disease.
- The Mustangs are 11-3 all-time in "Red Out" matches and have won three of the last five.
- SMSU "Red Out" matches
- 2024 Winona State (L, 1-3)
- 2023 Northern State (W, 3-0)
- 2022 Concordia-St. Paul (L, 2-3)
- 2021 Minnesota State (W, 3-0)
- 2019 Upper Iowa (W, 3-0)
- 2018 MSU Moorhead (W, 3-0)
- 2017 Minnesota State (W, 3-0)
- 2016 Bemidji State (W, 3-0)
- 2015 Minnesota Duluth (W, 3-2)
- 2014 Concordia-St. Paul (L, 2-3)
- 2013 Bemidji State (W, 3-0)
- 2012 UMary (W, 3-0)
- 2011 UMary (W, 3-0)
HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY
- Tyler Boddy is in his fourth season as head coach in 2025 and has a career record of 84-22 overall, including 51-20 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play with two NCAA tournament appearances (2023 & 2024).
- 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.
- During his tenure at SMSU, the program has appeared in nine NCAA tournaments, including finishing as NCAA national runners-up in 2014. SMSU has a combined record of 332-95 which includes two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season titles and two NSIC tournament championships.
- 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.
MORE ON No. 21 MINNESOTA DULUTH
- 2025 Record: 17-4, 10-4 NSIC
- Current NSIC Ranking: 4th (as of Oct. 28)
- Head Coach: Jim Boos, 23rd season
- Last weekend the Bulldogs hosted Augustana, winning in three sets, before losing to Wayne State in three sets the next day.
- Since defeating the Mustangs on Sept. 20, the Bulldogs have gone 8-4 in conference play.
- Senior middle blocker Kylie Broten leads the Bulldogs in kills with 230, averaging 3.03 kills per set, and is one of three Bulldogs with over 150 kills on the season. She currently leads the conference in hitting percentage, hitting .418 on the season.
- Preseason 'Player to Watch' Madeline Guetzkow is currently second on the team with 213 kills, averaging 3.33 kills per set and 51 total blocks, while sitting third with 160 digs.
SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS
- The Mustangs have started the 2025 season with team and individual placements amongst the NCAA statistical leader boards.
- SMSU rank No. 13 in DII in kills per set (14.21), No. 21 in hitting percentage as a team (.255), and are in the top 50 in digs per set (17.45)
- The Mustangs are currently No. 11 in assists per set (13.45) and are No. 12 in total assists (1076)
- Leah Jones is No. 37 in kills per set with 3.78, and is currently No. 26 in total kills (299).
- Sydney Thein is currently fourth in DII with 927 assists and fifth with 11.59 assists per set.
SMSU IN THE AVCA POLL
- SMSU moves down one spot, from No. 17 to No. 18 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Week 8 Poll released on Oct. 27.
- SMSU is one of seven NSIC schools represented in the recent poll, with Wayne State leading the conference and remaining at No. 6. Concordia-St. Paul moves up one to No. 9 followed by St. Cloud State at No. 11. The Mustangs are at No. 18, followed by Minnesota Duluth at No. 21. Northern State remains at No. 22, and Minnesota State falls one spot to No. 24.
- Following the AVCA poll released on Oct. 27, the Mustangs have now been ranked in the Top 25 for 249 of the last 250 rankings, dating back to Sept. 5, 2006.
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