Last TIME OUT
- The No. 7 Mustangs limited the Marauders to 35 kills in a sweep over UMary in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball at the SMSU PE Gym last night.
- Saari Kuehl led the Mustangs offense with a match-high 17 kills on a whopping .593 hitting percentage while adding a block assists and three digs. Emma VanHeel tallied 11 kills on .524 hitting and added a team-high five blocks.
- Sydney Thein supported the attack by recording 41 assists and six digs.
- McKenzie Tolk anchoredthe back line with 14 digs, followed by Mya Krystosek and Kennedy Drake with 11 and eight digs, respectively.
- SMSU posted 50 kills on a season-high .396 hitting percentage with seven total blocks, while UMary was limited to 35 kills on .211 hitting.
MUSTANG MACHINES
- SMSU ranks first in NSIC play in assists per set (14.80), second in kills per set (15.60), third in digs per set (19.04), and fourth in team hitting pct. (.274).
- Senior outside hitter Saari Kuehl leads SMSU in hitting with 198 kills (3.47 per set), followed by sophomore outside hitter Leah Jones with 175 kills (3.07 per set). Sophomore right side hitter Ashley Peltier comes in third with 155 kills while senior middle blocker Emma VanHeel adds 148 kills.
- VanHeel also leads the Mustang blockers with 60 blocks.
- Redshirt freshman setter Sydney Thein anchors the offense with 671 assists (11.77 per set) while supporting the attack with 48 kills on .342 hitting. Thein adds 198 digs and 16 service aces.
- Junior libero McKenzie Tolk leads the defense with 310 digs (5.44 per set) while supporting the offense with 57 assists.
SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS
- The Mustangs currently hold multiple team and individual placements amongst the weekly NCAA statistical leader boards.
- SMSU ranks first in the nation in assists per set (14.43), and second in Division II in digs per set (19.93) and kills per set (15.11).
- The Mustangs sit at No. 4 in total assists (817), No. 9 in total kills (861), and No. 11 in total digs (1,115).
- Sydney Thein comes in at No. 5 in assists per set (11.77) and No. 7 in total assists (671), while McKenzie Tolk ranks No. 18 in digs per set (5.44) and No. 14 in total digs (310).
SERIES HISTORY
- SMSU and MSU will meet for the 16th time, with the Mustangs leading the series 15-0.
- The teams met for the first time this season on Sept. 20, with the Mustangs sweeping the Beavers on the road.
- SMSU is 7-0 all-time against Minot State in Marshall.
SMSU ON HOMECOMING WEEKEND
MORE ON MINOT STATE
- MSU last played on Oct. 11 suffering a 3-0 road loss to Minnesota State. The Beavers are 0-5 on the road this season.
- Paulina Kowalska leads Minot State with 104 kills and comes in third on the team with 26 blocks.
- Maddy Boop follows with 76 kills while ranking fourth on the squad with 74 digs.
- Bailee Brommenschenkel offers a bit of everything on the floor, leading the Beavers with 34 blocks and eight service aves, while ranking third with 60 kills.
- Emily Barker and Jaina Macauley take turns supporting the attack, as Barker leads MSU with 159 digs and Macauley follows with 118. Kelci Madrid leads the back line with 114 digs and adds four service aces.
- MSU is averaging 9.3 kills per set on 9.5 percent hitting while opponents average 14.0 kills per set on 24.2 percent hitting.