The University of Minnesota Duluth brings its seven-match winning streak on the road this weekend for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match-ups at Winona State University and Upper Iowa University.

No. 2 UMD (13-1, 6-0 NSIC) continued to have the individual accolades roll in this week after a pair of wins over ranked foes that made the Bulldogs the last undefeated team in NSIC play. They'll look to continue that momentum on the final weekend of a five-match road trip before coming home for five in a row.

QUICK HITS
• Junior Ashley Hinsch earned NSIC Setter of the  Week honors for the third-straight week, while senior libero Julie Rainey earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for a second-straight. Hinsch has collected 12.89 assists per set in NSIC play, leading the league with the next-closest suitor, Northern State University's Drew Smith, at 12.13 per game. Rainey averages 6.78 digs per game, more than 1.5 digs more than the next-highest in the league: St. Clodu State University's Briane Stamer at 5.17.
• Junior outside hitter Mariah Scharf led the UMD attack with 37 kills last week (4.11 per-set average) while hitting .244 through a trio of three-set sweeps for the Bulldogs. She also collected five blocks, including one solo, four digs, and an assist, totaling 40.0 points on the week. Her 4.11 kills per game in NSIC play is second-best by University of Minnesota-Crookston's Brittany Looker.

UMD is once again one of the top teams in the nation in hitting percentage, currently ranked fifth at .284 as a team, while junior middle blocker Monica Turner is second in the nation individually at .459. Head coach Jim Boos thinks it starts with the Bulldog backline. "Our ball control has been very good. Julie [Rainey] and Katie Ledwell are two of the primary contributors, with help. Being in system allows your setter to make good choices and, a lot of times, deceptive choices where they can't predict where the ball is going. When you're out of system, more often than not, the ball has to go to your outside hitters. In those cases, the defense has much more of an advantage." Luckily for the Bulldogs, they have a setter who can take control in these situatiosn. "The first step of the equation is ball control, and from there, Ashley is Ashley. She's not going to get too high or too low. She's a well-liked personality and I think people rally around her."

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS (Friday, Oct. 3, 7:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
• Winona State (10-2, 5-1 NSIC) suffered its first setback in league play against Northern State University last time out, being swept by the Wolves in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
• Freshman outside hitter Danielle Rampart leads the Warrior attack this season and is second in the NSIC with a 4.21 kill per-game average, as well as a averaging 0.52 service aces per set. Winona State's other top attackers - outside hitter Taylor Boar and setter Mckenna Larsen - are also first-year players. Larsen averages 10.00 assists and 0.52 service aces per set in addition to being an aggressive attacker.
• Defensively, the team has five players averaging multiple digs per set, led by sophomore libero Jamie Cairncross at 4.43 per-game. As a team, WSU averages 1.19 blocks per set, tied for last in the league with Minot State.
• UMD is 70-1 all-time against Winona State and swept the Warriors twice last season on Oct. 5 and Nov. 8, 2013.

Coach Boos credits first-year head coach Joe Getzin with developing a new culture at Winona State this season. "They've changed some things that had been standards at Winona. They've gone young and really sped up the things that they do. We got a chance to watch them the first weekend at Michigan Tech, and we could tell right then and there that they were going to be a really good team, and a lot to deal with for our conference all year long. Offensively, they pose a lot of challenges, and we're going to have our hands full on the road."

SCOUTING THE PEACOCKS (Saturday, Oct. 4, 3:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
• Upper Iowa (7-7, 2-4 NSIC) will take on St. Cloud State on Friday night before the Bulldogs come to town and enters the weekend in a three-match losing streak in league play.
• The Peacocks boast one of the top attackers in the league in junior outside hitter Jennifer Mundt who has 3.98 kills per set. Senior setter Hailey Brown averages 2.02 kills per set to go with her 5.59 assists. As a team, Upper Iowa has hit just .170 on the season.
• Senior libero Amanda Weiss averags 4.52 digs per game, seventh-best in the NSIC. UIU is also at the bottom of the NSIC in blocks, tied for the second-lowest average at just 1.54 per game.
• UMD is 9-0 all-time against Upper Iowa and swept the Peacocks twice last season on Oct. 4 and Nov. 9, 2013.

While the Peacocks haven't always gotten the result they want on the scoreboard, Coach Boos believe they, too, are a force to be reckoned with in the NSIC. "They return quite a bit from what they've been last season. They're running a 6-2 offense. [Junior outside hitter Jennifer Mundt] is terminating the ball at a high level and hits the living snot out of the ball on the outside. They have some athleticism at the middle position, and their one setter also attacks from the front row. They pose some issues for sure. Again, Aaron Nelson and his staff do a great job. They've got that team playing well and playing confidently. It's a tough match to finish off a tough road weekend."

BULLDOG 'BYTE
"A lot of it is the same kind of stuff we talked about going into the year: without Kate Lange, we're a little more required to be a balanced offense that gets a lot more involved and tries to distribute the ball as evenly as possible across all five hitters. I think that's what she has has done most of the season. You can see it by who our leading attacker: each week and each match can vary, depending on the opponent that we played, and the in-game situation that we're dealing with. She's matured, and she's using her experience to help take her game and our team's offense to that next level." - head coach Jim Boos on why junior setter Ashley Hinsch has been putting up big numbers this season

Opening serve for the weekend is set for 7:00 p.m. in Winona as the Bulldogs take the court against Winona State.