THE OPENING SERVE: Friday will bring the first match of a three-game road stand in five days as the University of Minnesota Duluth clashes with Minnesota State University-Moorhead. That Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contest starts at 6:00 p.m. in Moorhead, Minn. The No. 4 Bulldogs will then turn their focus towards Northern State University Saturday. That engagement against the Wolves in Aberdeen, S.D., is schedule for a 2 p.m. first serve.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MSU-MOORHEAD: The Dragons snapped a 10-game losing streak to Bemidji State last time out. MSUM lead the NSIC and is 17th in the nation in blocks per set at 2.38. Kylie Kanwischer contributes to the Dragons' blocking numbers as she sits 51st in the country in that stat individually. Monica Vega is 3rd in the NSIC with 5.19 digs per set. MSUM lacks offensive firepower. Two players have a kills per set mark over two and as a team it ranks near the bottom in hitting percenateg and kills per set.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHERN STATE: The Wolves have won five of their last six contests. They are ranked No. 9 in the country for the second time in three weeks.  NSU sports the third best hitting percentage in the nation. Ashley Rozell was created problems for opposing teams on the service line. Rozell is seventh in the country in aces per set (0.58). Hailey Busch is 17th and 21th in the country, respectively, in kills per set and points per set. Laura Snyder ranks as the 19th best hitter in DII.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are 60-12 in the all-time series against the Dragons. UMD last lost the MSUM in 2010 in five sets. Since then, it has rallied off nine consecutive wins including a 3-0 rout the prior year.
The matchup will be the 53rd meeting between the Bulldogs and the Wolves. UMD is 49-3 in the previous 52 and is 11-2 since playing yearly starting in 2008. It has won the last two matchups. The Bulldogs cruised to a straight sets sweep in 2016.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and their opponents this weekend stack up in the NSIC standings and the AVCA poll.
TEAM        NSIC        AVCA
UMD          T-1st           4th
MSUM        12th           NR
NSU            4th             9th

THE BROADCAST: The matches this weekend will be carried live through a video stream, in addition to live stats capabilities, and is available for free at:
portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

LAST SIDE OUT: The Bulldogs breezed through three set victories over the University of Mary and Minot State University last weekend in Romano Gymnasium. UMD hit a season-high .488 against the Beavers and held the Maruaders to a -.022 attack percentage, a season-low allowed by UMD.

PLAYS TIME'S OVER: UMD has the fourth toughest remaining schedule in the NCAA. Its future opponents have a combined winning percentage of .715 (203-41). As it stands, the Bulldogs have the 25th hardest schedule this season and get to use this to their advantage as they prep for postseason play. 

WEEKLY HONORS: Four Bulldogs (Allison Olley, Emily Torve, Sarah Kelly ans Abby Thor) have been recognized by the NSIC in the last three weeks, garnering accolades from each available award. 
Player of the Week Honors
Oct. 9- Allison Olley Offense PoW
Oct. 9- Emily Torve Setter PoW
Oct. 16- Sarah Kelly Offensive PoW
Oct. 23- Abby Thor Defensive PoW

Olley earned her offensive honor after pacing the club with 3.29 kills per set and 1.43 blocks per set. Her 10 blocks led all NSIC players during the week and she recorded only four errors on 41 swings, hitting a robust .463. Olley had team-high 13 kills and seven blocks vs. Minnesota State. She also turned the tide in the fourth set vs. CSP giving UMD the lead for good on a run that headlined four kills and a block from her and finished with 10 kills.
Torve gathered her award as she averaged an NSIC best 13.28 assists per set over the weekend helping UMD capture wins over MSU and No. 2 CSP. She also led UMD to an NSIC best .330 team hitting percentage over the weekend that saw four players average over 3.14 kills/set. Torve had 35 assists and three aces against MSU and then followed up by registering a season-high 58 assists in a four-set upset victory of CSP. Her 58 assists ties a career best.Kelly, a 2016 American Volleyball
Coaches Association All-American, erupted for 3.62 kills per set, with a potent .412 attack percentage as she throttled 29 total kills past the two clubs. She had a team-high 18 kills versus the Warriors (18-30, .500) while registering four blocks in a five-set thriller. Then, she backed up her strong performance with 11 kills, a club-best nine digs and two aces versus the Peacocks.
Thor and company disrupted Minot State and U-Mary  to a combined .011 attack percentage. She compiled 12 blocks and a conference-high 2.0 blocks/set over the weekend. Thor notched a single-match high eight blocks vs. Minot State. She also chipped in offensively with an efficient .474 hitting clip with nine kills and zero errors in the two games.

ATOP THE NCAA MOUNTAIN: UMD is known year in and year out to boast some of the nation's best numbers and this year is no different as it ranks among the NCAA's best in terms of individual and team rankings.

Sophomore setter Emily Torve ranks fourth in the nation with 12.37 assists/set. In the short amount of sets she played (68), Torve ranks 45th in total assists (841). She also holds the third best mark for assists in a three-set match (50) in all of Division II and 17th best total for 60 assists in a five-set match.
With senior setter Sarah Heesacker, UMD is tops in the nation in assists/set (14.88). Those assists numbers also have the Bulldogs sitting atop of the leader board for kills/set at an astounding 15.78 (50 points better than Southwest Minnesota State).
Senior middle blocker Allison Olley and junior Sarah Kelly have each established themselves as one of the most efficient hitters in the country. Kelly (.466) and Olley (.445) sit first and second, respectively, in attack percentage. Either Olley or Kelly have held the number one spot for over a month and a half. Those outstanding clips have catapulted UMD to the best hitting average in the land at .334, 33 points ahead of next best Arkansas Tech (.301).

SET IT AND FORGET IT: Sophomore setter Emily Torve moved up to ninth all-time among set assists with 2,127 at UMD. Torve passed Shelia Brown's (1985-86) mark of 2,019 with her 60-assist effort versus Winona State.

ABBY FROM THE BLOCK: Sophomore middle blocker Abby Thor put on a clinic this past weekend. Her eight-block performance against Minot State was tied for the 15th best three-set match in the NSIC.  The last time a Bulldog registered at least eight blocks was Monica Turner back in 2015 against Wheeling Jesuit.  Sydnie Mauch that same year was the last to do so in three sets.

RIGHT SIDE AND CONQUER: Junior right side hitter Sarah Kelly is second among active players in career hitting percentage. Her .390 clip trails only Brittany Deveaux of Bluefield State College by 16 points. Kelly hit .360 in back-to-back seasons and is more efficient this year as she has clubbed an astounding .466 in 21 games this season while she has increased her kills per set by 63 points up to 3.62. Kelly conquered the NCAA II landscape attaining  the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week on Oct. 17.

ONE-THOUSAND KILL CLUB WATCH: In addition, junior right side hitter Sarah Kelly is on the verge of becoming the next Bulldog attacker to eclipse the 1,000-kill milestone. The Chaska, Minn., product is 182 kills away from becoming the 20th Bulldog to join the club. Sydnie Mauch was the 19th player in team history to join the prestigious club on Oct. 21, 2016 against Wayne State.

HEAD OF THE ROOKIE CLASS: Outside hitter Kate Berg has shown the tools to become a perennial threat the next three years with her play as a freshman. As the second option in the UMD attack, the native of Wayzata, Minn., leads all NSIC newcomers in a bevy of categories: kills per set (3.37), points per set (3.79), attacks per set (8.54), kills (229). She ranks 10th in the country in terms of points per set and kills per set among all freshmen.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Junior outside hitter Makenzie Morgen has racked up eight double-doubles. The next closest Bulldogs are Kate Berg and Emily Torve with three apiece.
Sept. 1- Nova Southeastern 11k-12d
Sept. 8- Lake Superior State 15k-13d
Sept. 9- Wisconsin-Parkside 12k-11d
Sept. 14- Minnesota Crookston 14k-10d
Sept. 19- St. Cloud State 12k-10d
Sept. 22- Wayne State 13k-18d
Sept. 23- Augustana 14k-11d
Oct. 7- Concordia-St. Paul 19k-16d

SURVEY SAYS: For roughly 15-plus years, the Bulldogs have been nationally ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association. UMD checked in as the seventh-best team to begin the season according to the preseason poll and has climbed up to the No. 4 slot in the most recent poll released on Oct. 23. The NSIC has seven teams represented in the NSIC poll with three teams including the Bulldogs in the top five. Southwest Minnesota State reclaimed the top billing and Concordia-St. Paul slid up to second. UMD grabbed one first-place vote as five different schools each received at least one tally.

Rank   School                                         Points     Record
1         Southwest Minn. State (30)            1170         20-1
2         Concordia-St. Paul (2)                    1115         19-2
3         Palm Beach Atlantic (8)                  1102         19-0
4         Minnesota Duluth (1)                    1041         19-2
5         California Baptist (5)                       1017         19-0
6         Lewis (2)                                          993           20-2
7         Nebraska-Kearney                           916           23-2
8         Western Washington                        829          17-3
9         Northern State                                 790           18-3
10       NW Nazarene                                  712           19-1

SURVEY SAYS II: In the perennial Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coaches Preseason Poll, the Bulldogs were chosen to finish third in the 16-team conference. UMD was selected behind NCAA II defending champions Concordia-St. Paul and Southwest Minnesota State. The Golden Bears received 218 points and amassed 10 first-place votes. The Mustangs collected 202 points and three first-place tallies. The Bulldogs came up one point shy of SMSU and had one first-place vote. Augustana was the other institution to garner a top-place finish. Augustana (172) along with Winona State (171) round out the top five.

BOOS CLUES: In his 16th year at the helm of the UMD volleyball program, Jim Boos has turn the volleyball club into a perennial national contender. Boos was hired on July 24, 2002 to become the fourth coach since 1976, succeeding Pati Rolf, and has become the longest tenured volleyball coach in the Bulldogs' 41-year history.
The native of Delafield, Wis. has produced a 429-77 record and has taken his club into the NCAA tournament every year expect the 2015 season being an illuminating one despite knocking off the eventual champions Wheeling Jesuit twice in the regular season.
UMD earned its inaugural trip to the NCAA II Elite Eight in 2004 before losing to eventual champions Barry University. Boos was given the prestigious accolade of AVCA Coach of the Year. Two years later, Boos and the Bulldogs would returned with another deep postseason before falling to the University of Tampa, who would be crowned National Champions.
Boos has hand-crafted numerous players that have rewritten the record books, and have retooled the expectations set forth yearly by the program. To date, 22 individuals have accumulated AVCA All-American honors since Boos arrival. Each of the past 15 years, the Bulldogs have had at least one representative selected to the all-american team. 
Before his time at UMD, Boos served as an assistant coach at UW-Oshkosh for five years (1992-98) and assistant at North Dakota State University (1998-2001).

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs have three games this weekend. They have a short turnaround after playing No. 9 Northern State with St. Cloud State on the road Tuesday. Afterwards, UMD will have a few days to prepare for No. 1 Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls this weekend at Romano Gymnasium. The Friday matchup versus SMSU, the Bulldogs hope to break the all-time attendance record at Romano. In 2012, UMD and Concordia-St. Paul squared off in front of 2,441 spectators.

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