Full NCAA II Central Region Rankings
The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs will look to bite back against the top-ranked Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday afternoon, but first will need to deal with Minnesota State University in a Friday evening tilt as they close out the regular season against a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents.
No. 3 UMD (26-2, 16-2 NSIC) split its matches against the Golden Bears and Mavericks earlier this season, knocked out of the No. 1 spot by then-No. 2 Concordia in five sets on Sept. 27 before sweeping Minnesota State the next day.
The Bulldogs headlined the all-conference selections announced earlier this week as senior outside hitter
Kate Lange was named the NSIC's Player of the Year and junior
Julie Rainey was cited as the league's Libero of the Year. UMD's five all-conference selections was tied with Concordia for the most by any team.
For the second straight week, the Bulldogs find themselves ranked fourth in the official NCAA II Central Region rankings at 21-2 in region play. The top-ranked Golden Bears top the poll at 20-1. The same ten teams make up the poll, with Harding moving to ninth and the teams immediately below moving up. Fifth-ranked No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State, Augustana (S.D.) in the seventh spot, No. 22 Northern State eighth, and No. 20 Wayne State tenth round out the NSIC representation in the poll.
|
NCAA II CENTRAL REGION |
Vs. Central |
Overall |
Previous |
|
1. No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul (NSIC) |
20-1 |
26-1 |
1 |
|
2. No. 5 Central Missouri (MIAA) |
23-1 |
27-1 |
2 |
|
3. No. 11 Washburn (MIAA) |
23-2 |
28-4 |
3 |
|
4. No. 3 UMD (NSIC) |
21-2 |
26-2 |
4 |
|
5. No. 8 Southwest Minnesota (NSIC) |
16-5 |
20-6 |
5 |
|
6. No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney (MIAA) |
20-3 |
24-3 |
7 |
|
7. Augustana (NSIC) |
18-6 |
20-6 |
8 |
|
8. No. 22 Northern State (NSIC) |
18-5 |
20-5 |
9 |
|
9. Harding (GAC) |
22-3 |
23-7 |
6 |
|
10. No. 20 Wayne State (NSIC) |
16-9 |
18-9 |
10 |
*BOLDÂ = NSIC
Rankings listed from AVCA Coaches Poll (Nov. 11)
The Opponents
Minnesota State (13-13, 8-10 NSIC) enters the weekend on a three-match winning streak as the Mavericks currently sit in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot in the league. In his ninth season at the helm of MSU, head coach Dennis Amundson's Mavericks have just one senior and seven upperclassmen. The Mavericks earned just 14 kills against UMD in their first meeting this season, led by All-NSIC second team selection and sophomore Chandra Honebrink's four. Sophomore setter Ellie Van De Steeg collected 13 assists against the Bulldogs and was MSU's other all-conference second team selection.
UMD is 42-17 all-time against the Mavericks including four of the last five meetings over the past four seasons.
No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul (26-1, 18-0 NSIC) has already earned a share of the NSIC regular season crown and needs a win against UMD or St. Cloud State this weekend to wrap up the top seed in the postseason tournament. Head coach Brady Starkey's Golden Bears have ranked at the top of the AVCA poll since claiming the top spot on Sept. 29. Seniors setter Amanda Konetchy and right-side hitter Kayla Koenecke, and sophomores outside hitter Emily McDonoughand middle blocker Heather Schiller all earned All-NSIC First Team honors, with freshman middle Marissa Johnson being named to the second team. Senior outside hitter Erienne Lauersdorf gave UMD the most trouble, hitting .333 on the night with 17 kills and 11 digs. Four Bears had ten-plus kills against UMD.
The Bulldogs are 19-17 all-time against Concordia-St. Paul including a victory last year at home against the Golden Bears.
UMD enters the weekend riding a seven-match winning streak, with its pair of Player of the Year honorees each nearing milestones.
Kate Lange sits 70 kills away from 2,000 for her iconic career while junior libero
Julie Rainey is 49 digs away from claiming the all-time Bulldog record of 1,703, currently held by Cheryl Carlson ('91). Lange ranks first in the nation with 5.39 kills and 6.12 points per set in 2013. Her 1,930 career kills is second-most in a career among active players, and her 4.53 per-set average is fourth. Rainey ranks seventh in the nation with a 5.17 career average.
Sophomore setter and NSIC First Teamer
Ashley Hinsch ranks second in the nation with 12.73 assists per set, and her 12.20 career average is third among active players. Sophomore middle blocker
Monica Turner, another First Team All-NSIC selection, ranks seventh in NCAA II with a .377 hitting percentage. As a team, the Bulldogs are second in kills, hitting percentage, and assists in 2013.
UMD and MSU battle on the floor at Romano Gym at 7:00 p.m. Friday before the Bulldogs and Golden Bears close out the regular season on Pack the Gym night at 4:00 p.m. Saturday.
