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All notes courtesy of SMSU athletics communications.
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.