The University of Minnesota-Duluth volleyball team will open its 2003 season when it travels to Fargo, N.D. to participate in the North Dakota State University Doublewood Inn Classic. The Bulldogs will play a total of four matches in the tournament.



2003 NDSU Doublewood Inn Classic

Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse, Fargo, N.D.

Friday, Aug. 29

UMD vs. University of Nebraska-Kearny, 2:30 p.m.

UMD vs. North Dakota State University, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 30

UMD vs. St. Cloud State University, 2:00 p.m.

UMD vs. Emporia State University, 7:00 p.m.



THE DOUBLEWOOD INN CLASSIC FIELD: The six-team field includes three programs that are ranked in the Top 25 according to the 2003 American Volleyball Coaches’ Association (AVCA) Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Bulldogs top the list at No. 5 after their 20th Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship, 29-3 record, and a bid into the NCAA Division II North Central Regional Tournament. Nebraska-Kearny ranks 14th in the AVCA poll after a season in which it went 32-5 and participated in the NCAA North Central Regional. The Lopers are picked to finish second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference only to last year's North Central Regional Champions, Metro State. NDSU is also made the preseason AVCA list with a No. 18 ranking. The Bison participated in the North Central Regional after finishing the regular season with a second in the North Central Conference with a 21-12 over-all record.

THE COACH: Jim Boos is entering his second season as head coach at UMD. In his first season as the Bulldogs skipper he helped lead the team to a 29-3 overall record on the way to its 20th NSIC championship, a perfect 18-0 conference record, and a berth in the NCAA Division II North Central Regional. Boos was an assistant coach at North Dakota State University from 1999-2001 and an assistant at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, from 1992-98. Boos received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1994 and followed up with a master’s degree in educational leadership in 1999.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: UMD will look to capture its 21st NSIC title in 25 years when the team hits the courts this season. The Bulldogs return 10 players from their 2002 squad, including five of the six starters. Junior Callie Zwettler (Madison, Wis.) was selected as the Preseason NSIC Player of the Year in the 2003 NSIC Coaches’ Poll. Zwettler led the NSIC in service aces per game last year (.70), while ranking fifth in kills per game (3.57), and ninth in hitting percentage (.281). Crystal Nucech, Senior, OH, also looks to be a force in the Bulldogs’ line-up. In 2002, Nucech ranked third on the team in kills per game (3.33). The only other senior on the roster, Katie Timm, will bring veteran leadership as well as experience. In 2002 she led the team playing 110 games. Timm was second in hitting percentage (.355) and ranked first in blocks per game (1.13). Other key returners will be juniors Greta Iisakka and Michaela Wuebben. As UMD's primary setter in 2002, Iisakka led the team in assists with 1,505 and was second in the NSIC averaging 13.60 assists per game. Wuebben ranked third on the team in blocks (74) while playing in 96 games for the Bulldogs.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: The Bulldogs begin 2003 as the No. 5 team in all of NCAA Division II according to the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll. UMD (669) rounded out the Top-five behind BYU-Hawaii (874), Tampa (800), Cal State-San Bernardino (770), and Truman (747). The No. 5 ranking is the highest preseason spot that the team has ever received. Last season, although unranked in the preseason poll, the Bulldogs spent three weeks atop the AVCA Poll beginning Nov. 12.

A LOOK AT THE NSIC: In the 2003 NSIC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, UMD was selected as the favorite to win the conference by securing seven first-place votes and 63 total points. Concordia University-St. Paul took the No. 2 spot (58) and was the only other to team to garner any first place votes.

NSIC Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Team Points 1. Minnesota-Duluth 63 (7)

2. Concordia-St. Paul 58 (2) 3. Southwest Minnesota State 45

4. Wayne State (NE) 39

5. Northern State 36 6. Minnesota State-Moorhead 29

7. Bemidji State 21

8. Winona State 17

9. Minnesota-Crookston 16

BULLDOG BITS: Last season UMD was 1-0 versus team in this weekend’s tournament. The Bulldogs faced North Dakota State Oct. 8, 2002 in a 3-0 (30-27, 30-26, 31-29) Bulldog win. Last year UMD was 9-1 in tournament play, losing its only game to Northern Colorado, 1-3 (31-33, 23-30, 30-28, 25-30).