The University of Minnesota Duluth needs just one win to claim its first outright Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championship since 2007 and has a pair of chances as the Bulldogs travel to the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State University this weekend.

No. 2 UMD (26-1, 18-0 NSIC) held serve at the top spot in this week's NCAA II Central Region rankings and improved their standing even more with a non-conference win over Concorda University, St. Paul on Tuesday evening. No other team has fewer than three losses in the region, and only the No. 7 University of Nebraska-Kearney has fewer than four losses overall as UMD seeks home court once again in the postseason.

QUICK HITS
• Junior setter Ashley Hinsch has led the Bulldogs offensively throughout the season, leading the nation in assists at 13.07 per game, with UMD's early-season matches against Southwest Minnesota and Sioux Falls being no different. Hinsch had 74 in a pair of three-set sweeps (12.33/game) while also hitting .417 with six kills.
• Junior outside hitter Mariah Scharf knocked down 25 kills to lead the Bulldogs, while junior middle blocker Monica Turner hit .405 with 19 kills. Turner and Hinsch led UMD at the net defensively, combining for 15 blocks including a solo each. Senior libero Julie Rainey had an outstanding 7.33 dig per-game average.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS (Friday, Nov. 7, 7:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
• Sioux Falls (16-12, 10-8 NSIC) won two in a row since dropping back to .500 in conference play. UMD swept the Cougars in the straight sets in Duluth on Sept. 20 earlier this season. The Bulldogs have never lost to USF in four matches.
• Senior outside hitter Kate Hart knocked down 10 kills against UMD, the only Cougar to reach double digits, while senior middle blocker Samantha Lovell added eight. Sioux Falls leads the NSIC in service aces by a wide margin, with 174 on the season, 28 more than the next closest competitor. The Cougars had three against UMD. Hart has 44 on her own.
• USF uses two freshman setters - Kayla Crane and Sydney Schaap - and relies on sophomore libero Abby Folk defensively.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS (Saturday, Nov. 8, 4:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
• No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State (19-7, 14-4 NSIC) has won three straight since losing two in a row for the first time since the opening of the season. The Mustangs are the only team to defeat the No. 1 University of Tampa this season, but UMD swept SMSU in the Bulldogs' home opener in Duluth on Sept. 19.
• Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Parker and junior right-side hitter Abbey Thissen led the Mustangs with eight kills each in Duluth, but the team shined at the net with six blocks. Freshman middle blocker Eisha Oden played a part in four. She's tied for fifth in the league averaging over a block per game.
• The Mustangs use a pair of setters, freshman Megan Larson and junior Emilee Gutzmer, though Larson has taken over the primary duties. Junior Whitney Burmeister has served as SMSU's libero and had 13 digs against UMD.

The Bulldogs and Cougars will take the court in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night before UMD and SMSU close out the NSIC regular season on Saturday afternoon in Marshall, Minnesota.