Trending
All notes courtesy of SMSU athletics communications.
THIS WEEK
The No. 15 ranked SMSU volleyball team begins postseason play in the NSIC Tournament on Tuesday night.
The Mustangs face No. 23 ranked Minnesota Duluth at 6 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 Minnesota Duluth for the 98th time with the Bulldogs leading the series 72-25.
The two teams have split the last eight matches dating back to 2022. SMSU is 3-2 in the last five matches played in the series inside the PE Gym. Coach Tyler Boddy holds a 4-4 record against UMD as SMSU head coach.
More information on each individual opponent can be found on page three.
RECAP OF LAST WEEK
The Mustangs split its final two regular season matches last weekend, sweeping Minnesota State on Friday, and being swept by No. 14 ranked St. Cloud State the following day.
Leah Jones led the Mustangs with 20 kills, including 15 against MSU hitting .333.
Ashley Peltier added 18 kills (nine in both matches) with six digs and five total blocks.
Sydney Thein paced the Mustangs offense with 40 assists, adding 20 digs. Tatem Schmidt added 31 assists and 11 digs.
NSIC Libero of the Year Ashlynn Schroeder combined for 36 digs, and provided 12 assists.
The Mustangs as a team hit .214 in the two matches combined.
MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS
SMSU returns 11 letter winners from the 2025 team that won 21 matches last season. The 2026 team features three seniors, four juniors, three sophomores, two redshirt freshman, and five true freshmen.
The Mustangs have collected 1344 kills over the first 27 matches with a team hitting percentage of .256. SMSU is holding teams to a hitting percentage of .176.
Senior outside hitter Leah Jones leads the Mustangs with 303 kills and 3.29 kills per set. The Marshall, Minn., native has 16 matches with double-digit kills, including a career-high 27 kills against Northern State. Jones ranks ninth all time in kills at SMSU.
Middle blocker Natalie Pilney and outside hitter Mollie Rupp are second and third on the team in kills, with 228 and 217 respectively. Pilney, who is averaging 2.48 kills per set and hitting .316, leads the team with 98 total blocks, averaging 1.07 blocks per set. Rupp, a transfer from Minnesota Duluth, is averaging 2.38 kills per set, and is hitting .289 on the season.
Mya Krystosek is fourth on the team with 184 kills, averaging 2.07 kills per set. The fifth-year outside hitter is second in digs (277) and digs per set (3.11), while leading the team in service aces with 35 on the year.
Fellow fifth-year Ashley Peltier is fifth on the team with 176 kills. Peltier has four matches with double-digit kills, and reached a season-high 13 kills against Jamestown.
Freshman middle blocker Lindsay Kruse is sixth on the team with 161 kills hitting a team-best .362. Kruse has six matches with nine or more kills and seven matches hitting .500 or better, while ranking second in blocks with 79.
Sophomore libero Ashlynn Schroeder is currently pacing the Mustangs defensively with 453 digs and 4.92 digs per set. Schroeder has 15+ digs in 17 matches this year including three matches with 25+ digs (9/3 v. Missouri Western, 10/10 v. Northern State, 10/31 v. Concordia-St. Paul).
Junior Paige Steinmetz ranks third in digs with 247, and a digs per set ratio of 2.68. Steinmetz has 10 matches with double-digit digs, with a season-high 16 against CSP (10/31).
Freshman setter Tatem Schmidt currently leads the Mustangs with 571 assists and an assist per set ratio of 6.21. Schmidt is also fourth on the team in digs with 219. The Huxley, Iowa, native has had 20 or more assists in 20 of 27 matches, and racked up 26 digs against Missouri Western.
Senior setter Sydney Thein has collected 525 assists and 5.71 assists per set. Thein has 12 matches with 20+ assists, and six matches with eight or more digs, including a season-high 14 against Minnesota State (Nov. 6).
A closer look at team statistics and individual career summaries can be found starting on page five.
SMSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKS
The Mustangs and individuals rank high in several NCAA statistical leaderboards.
SMSU is ranked first in assists per set (13.83) and second in kills per set (14.61).
The Mustangs are also ranked No. 10 in attacks per set (39.01), as well as No. 15 in both digs per set (18.04).
Ashlynn Schroeder is No. 46 in digs per set (4.92). Natalie Pilney is ranked No. 47 in blocks per set (1.07). Lindsay Kruse is ranked No. 47 in hitting percentage (.362).
In depth individual and team statistics amongst the NCAA leaders can be found on page 12.
SMSU IN THE CONFERENCE RANKS
The Mustangs and individuals rank high in several NSIC statistical leaderboards (conference matches only).
SMSU is ranked first assists per set (13.79), kills per set (14.5), and points per set (18.41) while ranking second in digs per set (17.99), fourth in service aces (127) and fifth in hitting percentage (.250).
Mya Krystosek ranks third in service aces per set (.45). Ashlynn Schroeder is third in digs per set (5.11). Natalie Pilney ranks third in blocks per set (1.09). Leah Jones ranks ninth in kills per set (3.33) and Lindsay Kruse is No. 10 in hitting percentage (.347).
In depth individual and team statistics amongst the NSIC leaders can be found on page 12.
MUSTANGS IN ALL-NSIC TEAMS
SMSU players Leah Jones and Ashlynn Schroeder were named to the All-NSIC first team, while Ashley Peltier, Natalie Pilney, and Mollie Rupp were named to the second team.
In addition to receiving first team honors, Schroeder was also named the Libero of the Year.
Jones recieves her third All-NSIC first team selection in her career, and fourth total all-conference selection.
Schroeder was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week three times this season.
Peltier was selected to the All-NSIC second team for the second consecutive season, Pilney receives all-conference honors for the first time this season, while Rupp was named to the All-NSIC second team in her first season as SMSU.
HEAD COACH TYLER BODDY
Tyler Boddy is in his fifth season as head coach in 2026 and has a career record of 111-32 overall, including 72-25 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
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.
In that time, the program has appeared in nine NCAA tournaments, including finishing as NCAA national runners-up in 2014. SMSU has a combined record of 336-96 during his tenure which includes two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season titles and two NSIC tournament championships.
For his efforts during his coaching career, Boddy was named a recipient of the Thirty Under 30 Award from the American Volleyball Coaches Association in April of 2019. He was promoted to associate head coach in the summer of 2021.
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.
Boddy, a 2012 graduate of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, lives in Marshall with his wife, Alex, sons, Bronx and Wilke, and daughter, Rowan.
SMSU IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT
After earning the No. 3 seed in this season's NSIC Volleyball Tournament, the Mustangs have now made the postseason for the sixth consecutive year and 22nd time overall.
SMSU were beaten in the quarterfinals by St. Cloud State 3-0 in the NSIC Tournament last season.
The Mustangs have won two NSIC Tournament titles in 2012 and 2017.
SMSU NSIC Tournament Results (since 2015)
2025 St. Cloud State | L, 0-3
2024 NORTHERN STATE | L, 1-3
2023 MINNESOTA DULUTH | L, 1-3
2022 vs. St. Cloud State | L, 0-3
2021 vs. St. Cloud State | L, 0-3
2018 at Minnesota Duluth | L, 1-3
2018 vs. Northern State | W, 3-2
2018 WAYNE STATE | W, 3-0
2017* at Concordia-St. Paul | W, 3-0
2017 vs. Augustana | W, 3-2
2017 UPPER IOWA | W, 3-0
2016 at Concordia-St. Paul | L, 0-3
2016 vs. Wayne State | W, 3-0
2016 SIOUX FALLS | W, 3-0
2015 vs. Winona State | L, 2-3
2015 AUGUSTANA | W, 3-2