The University of Minnesota Duluth will head out on the road for the final time in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season -- needing to keep winning and receive some help as they look to earn a home playoff game in the first round of the NSIC Postseason Tournament on Nov. 18.

No. 10 UMD (18-7, 11-5 NSIC) sits three games back of fourth place in the NSIC -- and also first place, as four teams currently are tied for first in the league at 14-2 in conference play. If UMD keeps winning, the Bulldogs will need someone to hit a skid in the final four matches as they only get one chance against a team ahead of them: Nov. 14 at Romano Gym in a rematch against No. 4 Northern State University in the regular season finale.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS | 3-20, 0-16 NSIC
Minot State has lost nine straight since falling to UMD on Oct. 3 earlier this season at Romano Gym ... the Beavers are 0-8 in Minot this season ... opponents have hit an NSIC-high .253 on the season while also knocking down a league-best 13.46 kills against Minot State ... MSU freshman setter Kelsey Dewulf is ninth in the NSIC averaging 9.01 assists per game and lifted 20 against UMD ... senior outside hitter Mallory Sal leads the Beavers with 3.01 kills per game, but collected just four in the match against the Bulldogs ... head coach Ben Kaszeta is in rebuilding mode in his first season at Minot State ... UMD is 5-0 all-time against Minot State including that victory earlier this year.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS | 10-15, 5-11 NSIC
U-Mary is 2-8 since falling to UMD on Oct. 2 earlier this season, but those two victories came within the team's last five matches ... the Marauders are 5-4 in Bismarck this season and will host St. Cloud State before the Bulldogs come to town ... U-Mary ranks near the bottom of the league in hitting percentage (13th at .151) and opponents' attack (15th at .228) ... Marauders junior setter Janell Finkbeiner averages 6.77 assists per game, 12th most in the conference and collected 14 against UMD ... junior libero Alex Brown ranks ninth in the NSIC averaging 4.40 digs per game, hauling in 17 against the Bulldogs ... head coach Thais Franca is in her first season with the team ... UMD is 11-0 all-time against U-Mary including the victory earlier this year.

OUTSIDE HITS
UMD senior outside hitter Mariah Scharf earned NSIC Player of the Week honors this week for the second time in her career ... despite a pair of dominant three-game sweeps last week against No. 24 Winona State University and Upper Iowa University, the Bulldogs slipped one spot to tenth in the latest AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll released Monday ... UMD is 12-6 in regional play this season and will find out where they stand when the first official NCAA II Central Region Rankings are released soon. Those rankings help determine selections for the NCAA II Central Region Tournament Dec. 3-5 along with automatic qualifiers from conference tournament championships in the MIAA, NSIC, and GAC ... senior setter Ashley Hinsch collected 87 assists last week, an average of 14.50 per game ... first-year libero Erin Schindler led UMD with 4.00 digs per game but four players averaged over 1.50/game -- a sign the Bulldogs' defense is continuing to improve after early season slumps.

LINKS TO WATCH
... vs. Minot State: Live Stats | Live Video
... vs. U-Mary: Live Stats | Live Video

UMD will hit the road to Minot this weekend in preperation 7:00 p.m. opening serve against the Beavers on Friday evening.