AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Week 3 Poll (Sept. 22, 2014)

The University of Minnesota Duluth moves up one spot to No. 2 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Coaches Top 25 poll after a week that saw the Bulldogs go undefeated in three, three-set sweeps. UMD now hits the road for its next five matches, including a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rivalry match on Tuesday.

No. 2 UMD (10-1, 3-0 NSIC) moves up one spot from the position it held in the first three polls of the season, supplanting NSIC rival Concordia University, St. Paul who now falls to No. 3 after dropping a match to Minnesota State University, Mankato (RV) last week. The University of Tampa remains No. 1 as it moved to 8-1 on the year. The Bulldogs sit just 50 points back of Tampa for the top spot (1,200-1,500).

UMD will defend its new spot in three tough road matches this week, beginning with the University of Minnesota-Crookston on Tuesday before taking on No. 21 Augustana (S.D.) College and No. 17 Wayne State (Neb.) College on the weekend. The NSIC is well-represented as six teams made the cut in this week's poll. No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State University moves up one spot despite falling to UMD, while No. 24 Northern State University rounds out the field. Minnesota State finished just outside of the top 25, 46 points on the outside.

QUICK HITS
After being named the AVCA's Player of the Week for last weekend, junior middle blocker Monica Turner put together arguably a better week in UMD's three three-set sweeps, hitting .518 with 33 kills and just four errors on 56 swings. She had 25 kills and no errors in three-set wins over St. Cloud State and Sioux Falls, hitting nearly a season-high .737 against SCSU on Tuesday night. She also knocked down 10 blocks, including one solo and added five digs.
Junior setter Ashley Hinsch continued to shine as she distributed the ball to the tune of 12.56 assists per set with 113 on the week. She now has collected 3,134 for her career and is inching closer to Tammy Wermager ('00) for seventh place (3,513) on the all-time assists list in program history.
Senior libero Julie Rainey, already the UMD career leader for digs, is nearing a milestone of her own. With 145 digs on the season, she now has 1,980 for her career and will likely hit the 2,000 dig-mark this week if she continues at her 5.62 per-game pace established already this season.
The three players each receive NSIC Player of the Week Honors for last week's matches. Turner and Hinsch repeated as Offensive Player and Setter, respectively, while Rainey joined the fray as Defensive Player of the Week.

The Bulldogs have swept each of their ten victories so far this season. In 2006, UMD opened the season 10-1 with nine sweeps and a five-set loss to then-No. 11 Florida Southern. That streak included four victories over ranked foes, while the 2014 Bulldogs have defeated a pair of ranked foes, both ranked in the top ten, and three more teams receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES (Tuesday, Sept. 23, 7:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
Minnesota-Crookston (7-4, 1-2 NSIC) opened the NSIC season with a 3-0 victory over Bemidji State a week ago before falling to a pair of ranked foes this weekend in then-No. 22 Augustana and No. 19 Wayne State. UMD will take on those teams this weekend.
Senior outside hitter Brittany Looker has been the team's go-to attacker this season, taking 40 percent of the team's swings, but she has made good for 195 kills and a .233 hitting percentage. Her 4.88 kills per game lead the NSIC. Sophomore setter Sierra Trost has 9.95 assists per set as she sets up Looker and the rest of the Golden Eagle offense.
Defensively, UMC has six players with at least 75 digs on the season including Looker, and Trost. Junior outside hitter Stephanie Pearson leads the way with 128 digs on the year (3.20 per-game). The team has averaged 2.24 blocks per set with middle blockers Morgan Van Gerpen (Sr.) averaging 1.19 per-game, the third-best mark in conference play.

BULLDOG 'BYTE
"The good news about being on the road is it's all about the team and the volleyball. At home, you have other things going on - visitors, and other distractions. Out on the road, we're all together. We travel together. We stay together. We know what we need to do. It's going to be a challenge. We have to do some things better, but we're excited. It's good to get out there and continue to compete." - head coach Jim Boos, on UMD's five-match road streak beginning this week. (YouTube)

The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles will take the court at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston, Minnesota at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening.