The University of Minnesota Duluth will face a pair of tough Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents this weekend including the third-ranked team in the nation as the Bulldogs host their annual "Pink Game" and "Pack the Gym" night at Romano Gymnasium.

No. 2 UMD (15-1, 8-0/1st NSIC) begins a five-match homestand Friday night against Minnesota State University Mankato with the team's annual pink game raising funds for the Essentia Health Cancer Center and Regional Fund. Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs host fellow regional powerhouse No. 3 Concordia University, St. Paul for the rivalry match that always fills Romano Gym.

QUICK HITS
• Senior libero Julie Rainey earned her third-straight NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors, continuing a streak of 11-straight matches with at least 15 digs, hauling in 41 in a pair of UMD victories, good for a 5.86 per-set average. She had 23 digs without a reception error on Saturday night against Upper Iowa.
• Junior setter Ashley Hinsch had earned three-straight NSIC Setter of the Week selections and posted arguably better numbers last weekend, but saw her streak snapped. She collected 93 assists in a pair of victories (13.29 per-set), including 53 in a four-set win over Upper Iowa, just missing a double-double with nine digs. Her 13.18 assists per set tops the NCAA II landscape.
• Junior outside hitter Mariah Scharf led the UMD attack agianst both Winona State and Upper Iowa, including a career-high 20 kills on Saturday against the Peacocks. She hit .320 on the weekend with 34 kills on 75 swings while also adding a pair of blocks, six digs, and one assist. Scharf is currently eighth in the NSIC with 3.80 kills per set.

Boos believes both teams present a tough challenge for UMD this weekend. "When they're in system, they're balanced. I'd argue that's what we are this year, as well. All three-teams are very similar in terms of how they offensively distribute the ball and keep everyone involved. Ultimately, I think it's going to boil down to who plays better, who controls the ball, and who's able to get hitters the ball in better positions. If one side defends the ball a little better, it makes it hard for the other side. That might make a difference as well.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS (Friday, Oct. 10, 7:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
• Minnesota State (10-5, 6-2/T-4th NSIC) proved itself a viable contender in the NSIC conference, opening league play with a 3-1 victory over Concordia-St. Paul in Mankato. The Mavericks won three of their last four heading into this weekend.
• Sophomore Krista Hassing leads the Minnesota State attack with the fourth-most kills in the NSIC (220) and is sixth in the league in per-set average at 3.86. On the outside, senior Chandra Honebrink has nearly gone kill-for-kill with Hassing, collecting 3.60 per set. Junior Ellie Van de Steeg has served as the team's primary setter with a league-high 685 assists - 12.02 per-game.
• MSU has not been the toughest team at the net, collecting the fourth-fewest blocks per set in the league (1.58) but sophomore libero Haley Fogarty is ninth in the NSIC with 4.25 digs per-set.

UMD head coach Jim Boos has high praise for Hassing. "She reminds me a lot of a young Vicky Braegelmann -- [second all-time in kills at UMD] -- a one-foot attacker. Everything's off one foot, but she goes up and gets it at a point that not many people can go touch. She's very impressive, and she's going to present a challenge for sure. In general, Mankato is physically challenging team and very well-coached. They run some fast stuff and keep their middles involved. They're absolutely a scary team."

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS (Saturday, Oct. 11, 4:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video | TV: My9
• No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul (14-2, 7-1/T-2nd NSIC) suffered its lone defeat of the non-conference schedule to the same team that knocked off the Bulldogs - the top-ranked University of Tampa - in straight sets at the Colorado Premier Challenge. The team also dropped a league match to MSU, but has won seven-straight in the conference.
• CU is second in the nation and leads the NSIC in hitting percentage at .305 as a team. (The Bulldogs are third (.287), but have the lowest opponents' hitting percentage in the league at just .137). Sophomore middle blockers Riley Hanson (third) and Emma Lange (eighth) are both in the top ten in attack percentage, while junior outside Anna Schlaak leads the team with 3.62 kills per set. Five Golden Bears have over 100 kills on the season as junior setter Kasey Williams is fifth in the nation at 12.11 assists per set.
• Concordia sits right behind UMD at third in the league in blocks per-set with 2.15. Junior middle blocker Heather Schliller has nearly a block per set herself (0.93) along with Lange and Hanson.  Senior libero Taylor Dordan has just 194 digs on the season but, as always, she has help with four Golden bears hitting 140 or more digs already this season.

The cast of characters may be different, but Coach Boos knows the Golden Bears are still just as tough. "The personnel might change, but what they do, and how efficient they are doesn't seem to change. Those two middles are back. They're both All-Conference-plus level middle hitters and produce a lot of problems. They're talented across the board and have five hitters who can terminate. They have a setter who can move the ball around, solid ball control, tough serving. It's the same old Concordia."

BULLDOG 'BYTE
"There's going to be times during a match or before where the energy just isn't always gonna be at peak. That's the nature of athletics. That energy allows them to play with confidence and enjoy the enviroment. The women maybe don't realize that it's pretty special when those types of crowds show up to watch Division II volleyball, and they're definitely treated to some great matches. A big part of the rivalry is that both places draw well. Ultimately, from a playing standpoint, it keeps you going. It fires you up and gets you excited." - Coach Boos on the atmosphere of a UMD-CU match-up and fans "packing the gym"

ESSENTIA HEALTH PINK GAME
Friday night's "Pink Game" will feature a silent auction and pink UMD Volleyball t-shirts for sale with proceeds benefitting the Essentia Health Cancer Center and Regional Fund.  Opening serve of the weekend is set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday night.