The University of Minnesota Duluth started off its 2015 campaign with a winning road trip to the Courtyard by Marriott Volleyball Classic in Tampa, Florida, hosted by the No. 1-ranked University of Tampa, taking down a pair of top-10 teams, including the host Spartans. This weekend, the Bulldogs' slate gets no easier as they face two more top-10 teams and another ranked opponent at the U-Indy Tournament, hosted by the University of Indianapolis.

No. 3 UMD went 3-1 on its opening weekend, collecting wins over No. 1 Tampa and No. 9 Wheeling Jesuit University as well as Wayne State (Mich.) University while falling in five sets to No. 24 Western Washington University. The end result was that not much changed at the top of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll, with the Bulldogs shifting up one spot and the Spartans holding steady at the top. This weekend, UMD faces off once again with Wheeling Jesuit, now No. 10, as well as No. 6 Colorado School of Mines, Ashland (Ohio) University (receiving votes in this week's poll) and the host Greyhounds of U-Indy.

SCOUTING THE OREDIGGERS | 4-0 (2015) / 25-4, 17-1 RMAC (2014)
No. 6 Colorado Mines won four games at its own Volleyball Classic last weekend, knocking off No. 16 Cal State San Bernardino in four sets last time out ... senior Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood earned Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Setter of the Week honors collecting 12.44 assists per set last weekend ... senior Frannie Cormier had 50 kills, hit .330 and averaged 3.12 kills per set while earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team ... the match will mark the first meeting between UMD and CSM ... head coach Jamie Skadeland is in her eighth season at the helm of the Orediggers ... Mines posted a 3-2 record on neutral courts last season and an 8-3 non-conference record ... the Bulldogs and Orediggers will meet at 9:00 a.m. CT Friday morning.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES | 4-0 (2015) / 10-15, 10-8 GLIAC (2014)
Ashland [R.V.] sweeped its weekend play at the Clarion (Pa.) University tournament, knocking off Indianapolis [R.V.] before swiping its position in the AVCA II Top 25 ... junior outside hitter Alli Cudworth earned the honor of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South Division Player of the Week, recording 73 kills, 32 digs, 10 blocks, and a .385 hitting percentage last weekend ... senior middle blocker Samantha Zuber earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team alongside Cudworth, collecting 36 kills on the weekend (2.25 per game) and knocking back 22 blocks ... UMD picked up the only victory in the all-time series against Ashland on Sept. 1, 2012 ... head coach Cass Dixon is in her fifth season at the helm of the Eagles ... Ashland went 0-3 on neutral courts a season ago while posting an 0-7 record in non-conference play ... the Bulldogs and Eagles will meet at 6:00 p.m. CT Friday evening.

SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS | 2-3 (2015) / 19-11, 15-3 GLVC (2014)
Indianapolis fell out of the ranking of teams receiving Top 25 votes from the preseason after posting a 2-3 record in its first weeks on the road, including the aforementioned 3-1 defeat against Ashland ... the team fell on the road in five sets at Cedarville (Ohio) University ... the Greyhounds were picked to win the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division narrowly edging out Lewis University ... senior outside hitter Hailey Brown returns after an AVCA All-American Third Team selection a season ago. She ranked 52nd in the nation with 3.67 kills per set and finished with double-digit kills in all but three matches in 2014 ... UMD won its only meeting in history against Indianapolis, a 3-1 victory on Sept. 13, 2013 ... head coach Jason Reed enters his third season with the Greyhounds in 2015 ... U-Indy went 9-1 on its home court a season ago but 4-8 in non-conference play ... the Bulldogs and Greyhounds will meet at 10:15 a.m. CT Saturday morning.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS | 2-2 (2015) / 38-4, 16-0 Mountain East (2014)
No. 10 Wheeling Jesuit will have revenge on its mind as it takes the court against UMD for the second time in as many weeks ... the Cardinals knocked off new-No. 20 Western Washington last week, but fell to the No. 1 Tampa in addition to the Bulldogs ... junior middle blocker Haley Kindall earned a spot on the Tampa Classic All-Tournament Team with 43 kills on the weekend (3.31/set) to go with a team-leading 13 blocks ... junior setter Andrea Thobe collected 37 assists and three blocks against UMD while Kindall had 13 kills and four blocks ... the Bulldogs' 3-1 victory over Wheling moved its all-time record to 4-0 against the Cardinals ... head coach Christy Benner is in her 14th season at the helm of the program ... Wheeling Jesuit went 5-2 on neutral courts and 22-4 in non-conference play a season ago ... the Bulldogs and Cardinals will meet for the second time in 2015 at 2:45 p.m. CT on Saturday afternoon.

OUTSIDE HITS
Senior outside hitter Mariah Scharf was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Courtyard by Marriott Volleyball Classic in Tampa, Florida ... senior setter Ashley Hinsch and junior Sydnie Mauch each earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team as well ... Scharf averaged 4.18 kills per game on the weekend while hitting .251. Mauch hit an astounding .530 on the weekend, collecting 43 kills on the weekend (3.91) and 10 blocks, an average of 0.91 per game. Hinsch led the Bulldog offense, averaging 12.24 assists, 0.53 kills, and 1.76 digs per set ... first-year libero Erin Schindler made an impressive debut in her first four starts for the Bulldogs, averaging 4.76 digs per set (81 in all) ... freshman middle Sarah Kelly also made an impressive debut with 31 kills on the weekend (1.82 per set) in a back-up role.

LINKS TO WATCH
Live Video | Live Stats (all matches)

The Bulldogs will take the court bright and early on Friday as UMD takes on No. 6 Colorado Mines at 9:00 a.m. local Duluth time.