2014 NSIC/U.S. Bank Tournament

The University of Minnesota Duluth survived the opening round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/U.S. Bank Volleyball Tournament on Tuesday night and will now look for an encore performance from 2013 and reclaim the league's postseason crown, but it will not come easy as four of the nation's best teams will compete in Duluth for the championship

Top-seeded, No. 2-ranked UMD (29-1) will put a 23-match winning streak on the line as the Bulldogs open semifinal play against fourth-seed No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State University, while on the other side of the bracket, No. 3 Concordia University, St. Paul takes on No. 7 Wayne State (Neb.) College in the other semifinal.

QUICK HITS
• After hauling down 21 digs in the NSIC Quarterfinals against Sioux Falls, senior libero Julie Rainey cracked the top 25 all-time in Division II now with 2,388 in her career. Rainey had plenty of help on Tuesday night, as senior outside hitter Katie Ledwell added 19, just missing a double-double, and senior right-side Maddy Siroin completed a double-double with 10 and 12 kills.
• UMD relied on its defense in six match-ups against the remaining semifinalists during the regular season. UMD had more blocks per game (2.28 to 1.71) and more digs (17.65 - 16.82) against the top-four teams in the NSIC while the top defenses in the league also held the Bulldog offense to just a .242 hitting percentage compared to .323 against the rest of the conference.
• Junior setter Ashley Hinsch averages 13.13 assists per game against the top teams, up a bit from her 12.98 average against the rest of thel eague. Junior Mariah Scharf leads the Bulldog offense averaging four kills per game, while sophomore middle blocker Sydnie Mauch is not far behind at 2.91 with a team-high .336 hitting percentage. Mauch also averages almost a block per game (0.96) against the top four.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS (Friday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
• No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State (21-8) took the Bulldogs to the limit last Saturday night, just the second time all season that UMD went to five sets. The Bulldogs won both meetings with the Mustangs, sweeping SMSU on Sept. 19 in Duluth, improving their all-time record against Southwest to 62-14.
• Freshman middle blocker Eisha Oden earned the league's rookie of the year honors last week and proved why with 13 kills and seven blocks against the Bulldogs in Marshall. The Mustangs out-blocked UMD 16-7 in taking UMD to five sets, after being out-paced 11-6 in the previous meeting. All-NSIC right-side hitter Abbey Thissen also had 13 kills against the Bulldogs, while freshman outside Kenzie Beekman led the way with 17.
• Southwest relies on youth at the setter position with freshman Sarah Larson, and have a converted outside, junior Whitney Burmeister playing the libero position.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS (Friday, Nov. 15, 5:00 p.m. vs. Wayne State) - Live Stats | Live Video
• No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul (26-4) suffered a pair of defeats to UMD this season. The Bulldogs have actually won four of the last five matches against CU and now own a 23-18 all-time record. The Golden Bears have won three of the six NSIC Tournament championships since the league expanded to include tournament play.
• CU placed three players on the All-NSIC First Team, and a pair more on the Second Team. Sophomores Riley Hanson and Emma Lange, and junior Anna Schlaak all knocked down double-digit kills against UMD in their non-conference meeting last week.  Hanson and Lange each also had played a part in five of CU's 10 blocks.
• The Golden Bears won the opening set before UMD took three straight two-point victories thanks in large part to defense. CU hit just .180 against UMD as Rainey had 22 digs, with Ledwell and Hinsch combining for 26 more while junior middle blocker Monica Turner played a part in six blocks. Junior libero Taylor Dordan had 14 digs to pace the Bears.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS (Friday, Nov. 15, 5:00 p.m. vs. Concordia) - Live Stats | Live Video
• No. 7 Wayne State (25-5) was also swept in two matches this weekend, but gave the Bulldogs their toughest test of the season on Halloween as UMD escaped with a 3-2 win, 15-13 in the final set. The Bulldogs are 22-5 all-time against Wayne, who boasts the second-longest winning streak in the NSIC of four matches.
• Sophomore middle hitter Alyssa Frauendorfer earned AVCA Division II Player of the Week honors this week. Frauendorfer and junior setter Leisa McClintock each earned All-NSIC honors, along with junior outside Katie Hughes. Hughes and Frauendorfer had 12 and 13 kills, respectively, against UMD but it was sophomore outside Michaela Mestl who gave the Bulldogs the most trouble with 14 kills and a .286 hitting percentage.
• Mestl and Hughes each had 20+ digs against UMD, more than junior libero Courtney VanGroningen's 18. The Bulldogs collected 21 blocks in eight sets against Wayne this season, and held the Wildcats to just an .070 hitting percentage in their first match-up on Sept. 27.

Wayne and Concordia will open the weekend at Romano Gym at 5:00 p.m. on Friday night before the Bulldogs take the court against the Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. The league championship game is set for a 4:00 p.m. opening serve on Saturday afternoon.