The University of Minnesota Duluth with host its annual Pink Game benefitting the Essentia Health Duluth Clinic Foundation's Breast Cancer Program this weekend as a pair of American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 teams come to town for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action.

After knocking off the University of Sioux Falls on the road last time out, No. 5 UMD (14-4, 7-2 NSIC) returns to Romano Gymnasium this weekend to host No. 20 Augustana (S.D.) University on Friday night and don the pink jerseys for Saturday's match-up with No. 5 Wayne State (Neb.) College. Aside from the wardrobe change, the day of the match will also include a silent auction assembled by Bulldog assistant coach Christyn May. After the weekend, UMD will hit the road on Tuesday evening to take on St. Cloud State University in a rematch from earlier this season.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS | 13-4, 6-3 NSIC
No. 20 Augustana has won two straight after dropping a pair of matches against Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State University Mankato (R.V.) the week previous ... the Vikings are holding opponents to the second-lowest hitting percentage in the conference at .158 while ranking fifth offensively at .247 ... sophomore libero Tahlyr Banks leads the NSIC defensively, averaging 5.72 digs per set ... junior middle blocker Becca Finley ranks no. 14 in the league averaging 0.84 blocks per game ... on the offensive end, junior right-side hitter Dani Magzdas leads Augustana with 2.67 kills per game ... head coach Dan Meske is in his first season leading the Vikings ... UMD is 30-8 all-time against Augie including a 3-0 victory last time out on Nov. 1, 2014 last seaon ... the Bulldogs and Vikings will open serve on the weekend at 7:00 p.m. Friday night.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS | 15-3, 7-2 NSIC
No. 9 Wayne State knocked off William Jewell University in straight sets for the team's third-straight sweep after falling to Concordia-St. Paul to snap a previous three-match winning streak ... Wayne State ranks just about in the middle of the conference both offensively and defensively, hitting .246 while holding opponents to a .179 mark ... junior middle hitter Alyssa Frauendorfer ranks eighth in the league hitting .350 while also averaging 3.18 kills per game. Ranked 11th in the NSIC, Frauendorfer leads a string of WSC attackers in the the top 15, followed by senior outside hitter Katie Hughes at 3.15 and senior right-side hitter Elizabeth Gebhart at 3.13 ... the team also has three players in the top-15 of digs, led by Hughes at 4.76 per game (fourth) ... head coach Scott Kneifl is in his 11th season leading the Wildcats ... UMD owns a 24-6 record all-time against Wayne State and won each of the teams' four meetings last season including a 3-0 victory over the Wildcats on Nov. 21, 2014 in the NCAA II Central Region Tournament ... the pink match is set for 4:00 p.m. on Satuday.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES | 8-9, 4-5 NSIC
St. Cloud State will host Wayne and Augustana this weekend before taking on UMD next week ... SCSU snapped a three-match winning streak last time out against Southwest Minnesota State ... senior libero Brianne Stamer ranks second in the league averaging 5.48 digs per game while middle blocker Kellan Flynn is averaging nearly a block per game (0.92) at the net ...as a team, the Huskies rank in the middle of the pack in most categories in the NSIC but are sixth with 15.98 digs per game ... senior outside hitter Rachel Burke leads the SCSU attack at 2.62 kills per game ... head coach Chad Braegelmann is in his first season at the helm of the Huskies ... UMD owns a 68-33 all-time record against St. Cloud State including a 3-0 defeat at Romano Gym on Sept. 22, 2015 earlier this season.

OUTSIDE HITS
After slipping twice last week against new-No. 1 Concordia University, St. Paul and No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State University, the Bulldogs slid to fifth in the latest AVCA Division II Coaches Poll ... UMD went 1-2 last week, suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time since the 2011 season, falling to No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul and No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State before knocking off Sioux Falls in four games ... senior middle blocker Monica Turner and outside hitter Mariah Scharf each went over 1,000 kills in their careers on Friday night against SMSU ... Scharf led the Bulldog offense averaging 5.00 kills per game while hitting .338, adding five service aces and five blocks ... senior setter Ashley Hinsch surpassed the 5,000-career assist total on a week she averaged 12.46 assists per game, dropped in three service aces, grabbed 29 digs, and added six blocks.

LINKS TO WATCH
... vs. Augustana: Live Stats & Video
... vs. Wayne State: Live Stats & Video
... vs. St. Cloud State: Live Stats | Live Video

No. 5 UMD and No. 20 Augie will get the tough, top-25 weekend started at Romano Gym at 7:00 p.m.