SMSU VOLLEYBALL: Mustangs ready to open up fall camp next week
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MARSHALL – Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball will officially begin its quest for a 15th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance on Aug. 6, when players open fall camp to begin the 2018 season.
This year’s roster under the direction of head coach Terry Culhane-now his in 15th season-includes 10 returning letter winners from a 2017 team that finished 29-4 overall record, won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament and hosted the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
Culhane, who has a career record of 369-97, including 217-47 in conference play, will welcome back four starters from last season, but will need to replace its starting setter and libero. The 2018 roster features two seniors, two juniors, six sophomores and six freshmen.
The Mustangs finished 2017 with a 17-3 league record before reeling off three straight victories to capture the program’s second NSIC Tournament title. SMSU earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament and opened with a 3-0 victory over Arkansas Tech, before losing to Minnesota Duluth in the tournament semifinals.
SMSU will return four starters from last year’s team, including three who earned All-NSIC postseason honors in 2017. Leading the charge is senior outside hitter, Taylor Reiss, who was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Year a season ago. Reiss, a two-time NSIC Offensive Player of the Year, finished second in Division II last season with 605 kills, was third in the country with 5.69 kills per set and was fifth in total attacks with 1,512. She closed the season hitting .305 and also had recorded 363 digs, 73 total blocks and 24 service aces. She led the conference in both kills per set (4.9) and points per set (5.4) during conference play.
In the SMSU volleyball career record book, Reiss begins her final season ranked second in kills per set (4.66), third in points per set (5.31), eighth in attack percentage (.310) and seventh in total kills (1,482).
Also returning is senior outside hitter, Kaylee Burmeister, who garnered honorable mention AVCA All-American recognition last season. Burmeister ranked second on the team with 374 kills, while hitting .229 and averaging 3.17 kills per set. She also led the team with 375 digs and was team leader in service aces with 39.
Sophomore middle blocker, Sarina Smith, is another starting returning following a rookie season where she earned second team All-NSIC honors. Smith ranked fourth on the team with 264 kills and finished second on the team with a .365 hitting percentage, which ranked 18th in Division II and the fifth best in SMSU single-season history. She also lead the squad with 108 total blocks.
Junior libero/defensive specialist Erin Corrigan is another starting returning this fall after ranking third on the team with 309 digs in 2017.
SMSU’s offense last season finished No. 1 in Division II in hitting percentage (.290) and kills per set (15.2), while ranking ninth in total kills (1,798).
SMSU had three players graduate from last season’s team, including All-American setter Megan Larson and All-American middle blocker Brooke Borchardt. Larson closed her career as the program’s all-time leader in assists with 5,574. Borchardt led SMSU with a .367 hitting percentage last season and was ranked third on the team with 305 kills.
SMSU will open the 2018 season by traveling for a pair of tournaments the first two weekends of the season. The Mustangs will first travel to Pensacola, Florida, to compete in the West Florida Invitational on Aug. 24-25. SMSU will play Western Washington and West Florida on day one, followed by matches against Regis (Colo.) and Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.) on day two. The following weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), SMSU will travel to Denver, Colorado, to compete in the Colorado Premier Challenge for a sixth consecutive season.
SMSU will begin its home season and its 20-match NSIC schedule on Sept. 6 taking on Augustana University.
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