Photo by Samantha Davis: Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball players, left to right, Karli Arkell, Aydney Thein, Saari Kuehl, Kennedy Drake, McKenzie Tolk and Leah Jones react after points during SMSU’s five-set win over Northern State at the PE Gym in Marshall on Friday night. The fourth-ranked Mustangs are set to go on the road to take on No. 15 Minnesota Duluth and No. 8 St. Cloud State this weekend.

MARSHALL — Riding a 13-match winning streak heading into the weekend, the No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team looks every bit the part of its rank in the Division II coaches poll. While the Mustangs have had some experience against challenging competitors already this season, they’re in for their toughest task yet when they go on the road to face No. 15 Minnesota Duluth and No. 8 St. Cloud State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.

“That weekend in the last couple of years has been so tough because Duluth and St. Cloud are paired together, which brings a unique dynamic to it with who you play first or who you play second,” SMSU head coach Tyler Boddy said. “Having to play those two quality opponents back to back like that, I think, plays a factor into it.”

In its first week of home competition, SMSU defeated Augustana and No. 22 Northern State in five sets before sweeping Minnesota State University-Moorhead. 

The Mustangs’ Tuesday match against Augustana — a 25-16, 25-23, 24-26, 21-25, 16-14 win — was the team’s first five-set match of the season and freshman defensive specialist Kennedy Drake’s first five-set match ever after being a part of a dominant Marshall High School volleyball team, according to Boddy. 

On Friday, the Mustangs dropped each of their first two sets against Northern State, 25-21, 29-27, before rattling off three straight game victories by the scores of 25-19, 25-16, 15-11 to claim the come-from-behind win.

“We were put in some adverse situations last week, which is good for us to have to experience, and nice to be able to do it at home before having to hit the road against two very good teams,” Boddy said, adding that the team will also get to work through it again when it goes on the road to face Augustana again next Tuesday. “Hopefully we can learn from some of that while also getting some wins.”

Last weekend’s wins brought SMSU its 12th and 13th consecutive wins to start the season. The mark leaves the Mustangs three wins shy of their longest winning streak since 2017 when they won each of their first 16 games. SMSU won the NSIC Championship that season before losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Team success on the court has also led some Mustangs to individual accolades. Last week, redshirt freshman Sydney Thein was named the NSIC setter of the week. The nod marked SMSU’s first weekly conference honors since October 2023. They doubled down on the success with the weekend wins over Northern State and MSU-Moorhead, earning Thein her second consecutive selection for the award while also setting up outside hitter Leah Jones for the NSIC’s Offensive Player of the Week selection.

“It’s just cool for Sydney and Leah to get to be recognized, and very deserving, I believe,” Boddy said. “But a lot of the conference probably feels like they were slighted in that. We’ve been in the same boat at times, but it’s neat for those two to be recognized. They’re good buddies and it’s kind of a fun week for them to get that, but we’ve moved on and we’re trying to move on to this week.”

Jones averaged four kills per set for the Mustangs with a .244 hitting percentage last week, including a career-high 19 kills against Northern State to go along with 18 digs. She also had an 18-kill, 17-dig performance with a pair of blocks against Augustana.

In Thein’s second consecutive week as the NSIC’s Setter of the Week, she set a career-high 56 set assists against Augustana and bested it on Friday with 64 against Northern State. Her average of 13.67 set assists per set in the Mustangs’ sweep of MSU Moorhead was also a career-high.

Libero McKenzie Tolk is also listed as among the NSIC’s Others Under Consideration for Defensive Player of the Week after tallying 23 digs against Augustana, 24 against Northern State, and earning her 1,000th career dig with a 16-dig effort against MSU Moorhead.

SMSU will start its upcoming weekend on the road against Minnesota Duluth. SMSU claimed each of its two matchups against the Bulldogs during the regular season last year, winning in four sets in Marshall behind Emma VanHeel’s eight blocks and Tolk’s 20 digs, and then winning in five sets up in Romano Gymnasium behind Kuehl’s 14 kills and since-graduated Alisa Bengen’s 45 set assists.

Despite the Mustangs’ regular-season success against the Bulldogs, Duluth defeated the Mustangs in four sets in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals. Cianna Selbitschka and Payton Addink led Duluth offensively with 17 kills each while Hope Schjenken, Samantha Paulsen and Grace Daak each had five blocks at the net. Still, Boddy said the team is throwing last year’s result out.

“Every year is so different or new, but they’re always a good team,” Boddy said. “Getting to go up there and play again… I think our team’s just ready for another battle with those guys and St. Cloud as well, but they’re always going to be tough regardless.”

The Bulldogs have a veteran-filled roster this season, with eight of its 18 players being either seniors or graduate students.

Among those seniors, right side/middle blocker Samantha Paulsen’s .355 hitting percentage and Madeline Guetzkow’s .320 mark have led the Bulldogs to fourth in the conference as a team at .253, just ahead of SMSU’s .251 mark. Madison Kaylyn’s .443 digs per set also rank seventh in the NSIC while her 0.45 service aces per set rank sixth, just behind teammate Ava Jones’ 0.50 average.

While the Mustangs have been relatively successful against a talented Bulldogs roster as of late, St. Cloud State has given SMSU trouble. SMSU has claimed two of the last three meetings between 2022 and 2023 but hasn’t claimed back-to-back wins against the Huskies since their 19-game win streak over St. Cloud from 2005 through 2017. That streak was followed by a five-match head-to-head skid.

Like against Duluth, SMSU has claimed each of its last two regular-season meetings against the Huskies. Also like against Duluth, the lone loss came in the postseason, when the Mustangs’ 2022 campaign came to an end when they were swept by St. Cloud in the NSIC tournament.

While SMSU has been on a tear as of late, St. Cloud has been as well with a six-match winning streak. The streak includes wins over then-No. 9 Concordia-St. Paul, then-No. 20 Michigan Tech, Minnesota Duluth, and a Minnesota State team receiving votes in the latest poll.

While the Huskies have been a top team defensively — their .163 opponent hitting percentage ranks fourth in the NSIC, just behind SMSU’s second-ranked .135 — offense has been their calling card. Their .283 hitting percentage trails only Wayne State’s .289 and their 14.70 kills per set trail only SMSU’s 15.2. They’ve also served aggressively, with their 1.86 service aces per set narrowly outpacing SMSU’s 1.78 to slot them third and fourth in the conference.

Kenzie Foley led the NSIC in kills per set in each of the last two seasons and ranked fourth as a sophomore in 2021. Now a fifth-year senior, Foley appears poised for another season as the conference’s kills champion, with her 4.75 kills per set putting her 1.15 ahead of Wayne State’s Taya Beller, who ranks second in the conference. 

Adding support for Foley is Ella Thompson, a junior transfer from South Dakota State. Thompson was named to the Division I Summit League’s All-Freshman Team in 2021 and averaged 2.15 kills and 0.82 blocks per set as a sophomore in 2022. After taking a year off in 2023, Foley has been elite at the Division II level with her 3.20 kills per set for the Huskies ranking sixth in the NSIC just ahead of SMSU’s Jones’ 3.13. Her .394 hitting percentage is also second in the conference only to Wayne State’s Maggie Brahmer’s .479. St. Cloud’s Hannah Bruskiewicz also ranks fourth in the conference with a .372 hitting percentage.

While playing Duluth and St. Cloud on consecutive days is a challenging stretch of schedule, Boddy said the grind hasn’t changed how the Mustangs approach the matches. He said that the team’s process revolves around focusing on itself first, then looking at film, and then trying to do what it can to slow down its strengths.

“We’re going to get both of those teams’ best effort, but that’s no stranger to this conference,” Boddy said with a laugh. “I think all of the top teams look forward to getting to play each other. This would be a good test for us, having to play two very good teams back-to-back like that.”

SMSU’s match against the Bulldogs at Romano Gymnasium is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday while the Mustangs’ tilt at St. Cloud State is slated for 2 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall. Live video and stats for both matches are available on SMSUmustangs.com.