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THE OPENING SERVE: The University of Minnesota Duluth gets its biggest test of the season as it faces the top-ranked and top-seeded Concordia University, St. Paul on its home floor in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament.  The two-time tournament champions will meet the Golden Bears in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at the Gangelhoff Center starting at 2:30 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON CONCORDIA-ST.PAUL: The Golden Bears finished the regular season 27-1 and 19-1 in the NSIC. CSP claimed its third straight regular season title. The Bears defeated Wayne State in five sets in the NSIC quarterfinal at home on Wednesday. Their only lost in the NSIC was to the Bulldogs. They suffered their only other loss to Southwest Minnesota State in the Colorado Premier Challenge. 
CSP is coached by Brady Starkey, whom earned this season's conference coach of the year honors, and is the hottest team remaining in the tournament, having knocked off its last 12 challengers. As a unit, they rank fourth in hitting percentage (.291) and kills/set (15.23)throughout the Division II landscape.Junior Elizabeth Mohr leads the nation in assists per set (13.29) while also ranking second in total assists (1422). Brooklyn Lewis has been the Bears best attacker averaging 4.00 kills per set, good for 29th in the nation. Freshman Tori Hanson scrapes 4.19 digs per set to pace CSP.

THE SERIES: UMD leads the series 27-23 over Concordia-St. Paul. The Bulldogs snapped the Bears' 18 NSIC-game winning streak last October when they pulled off the upset at home. Both teams have combined to win the last four tournaments, with the Bears winning the last two. In two previous meetings in the NSIC tournament each team has gained a victory.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and CSP stack up in the NSIC standings, in the AVCA poll and the NCAA Central Region Rankings.
TEAM        NSIC        AVCA        AVCA
UMD            4th            6th            5th
CSP             1st            1st            1st

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: UMD almost made it out of Romano Gymnasium with a three-set sweep for the 17th time this season but failed to convert two match points in the third and ultimately inched past Winona State in five sets to advance in the tournament.  
Allison Olley and Kate Berg blocked back-to-back blocks to give UMD the lead at 12-11 in the fifth. Keena Seiffert sealed the game with consecutive aces. Sarh Kelly had 16 kills to lead the Bulldogs while Makenzie Morgen chipped in 16 digs to pace the club. Olley and Berg each had 15 kills, Morgen added 14. Berg and Kelly also notched double-doubles alongside Morgen. 

FARING AGAINST THE BEST: Against ranked opponents, UMD is 7-3. The Bulldogs have knocked off Concordia-St Paul, Augustana, Wayne State (twice) and Winona State (twice)and SMSU. The Bulldogs have a chance to take two wins from the Golden Bears in a season for the first time since 2014.

ALL BUT GAME OVER: UMD is 19-0 this season when it leads 2-0 going into the intermission. Since the change to 25-point format in 2008, the Bulldogs are 217-1. 

WEEKLY HONORS: Four Bulldogs (Allison Olley, Emily Torve, Sarah Kelly and Abby Thor) have been recognized by the NSIC, garnering accolades from each available award. Kelly and Torve each collected their second honors on Nov. 6.
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
Nov. 6- Sarah Kelly (2) Offense PoW
Nov. 6- Emily Torve (2) Setter PoW

BEST OF THE CONFERENCE: Five Bulldogs were recognized by the NSIC for all-conference accolades. Junior right side Sarah Kelly and senior middle blocker Allison Olley each received first team honors. Freshman outside hitter Kate Berg, junior outside hitter Makenzie Morgen and sophomore setter Emily Torve each obtained NSIC second team distinction.

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 fifth in the nation with 12.18 assists/set. She also holds the third best mark for assists in a three-set match (50) in all of Division II.
With senior setter Sarah Heesacker, UMD is second in the nation in assists/set (14.41). Those assists numbers also have the Bulldogs sitting in second on the leader board for kills/set at an astounding 15.32 (three points behind 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 (.431) and Olley (.403) sit first and ninth, respectively, in attack percentage. Either Olley or Kelly have held the number one spot for well over two months. Those outstanding clips have catapulted UMD to the best hitting average in the land at .298, two points ahead of next best Arkansas Tech (.296).

SET IT AND FORGET IT: Sophomore setter Emily Torve moved up to ninth all-time among set assists with 2,517 at UMD. Torve passed Shelia Brown's (1985-86) mark of 2,019 with her 60-assist effort versus Winona State. Tammy Wermager is eighth on the UMD charts with 3,513. Torve hit 1,000 assists for a second consecutive season vs. SMSU (11/3) and is the current leader among active players in assists per set at 12.04 edging Marina Hansen (Colo. School of Mines). Torve also turned in a new personal match-high with 65 assists this season. Ashley Hinsch, who preceded Torve, is the last UMD player to serve up that many assists, passing out 68 assists vs. Sioux Falls on Nov. 11, 2014. 

RIGHT SIDE AND CONQUER: Junior right side hitter Sarah Kelly is second among active players in DII in career hitting percentage. Her .388 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 .431 while she has increased her kills per set by 76 points up to 3.75. 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 H.S. product is 50 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 (3.31), points per set (3.74), attacks per set (8.80), kills (334). Among all freshmen, she ranks 11th in the country in terms of total kills and points per set and ninth kills per set.

MASTER OF ALL TRADES: Junior outside hitter Makenzie Morgen has been the most versatile player for UMD this season. Morgen is currently on pace at become the first Bulldog to average at least 3.00 kills per set and 3.00 digs per set since Kate Lange who accomplished that feat in 2011. She also has 38 aces from the service line this year. That is the most by a Bulldog since Kate Lange had 48 aces in 2011. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Junior outside hitter Makenzie Morgen has racked up 11 double-doubles. 
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
Oct. 27- MSU-Moorhead 15k-16d
Nov. 11- Wayne State 27k-24d
Nov. 15- Winona State 15k-16d

SURVEY SAYS : The University of Minnesota Duluth was ranked fifth in the second release of the NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings, which is released every Wednesday. The winners of the NSIC Postseason Tournament and the champions of the MIAA and the GAC get automatic bids to the tournament, leaving five at-large bids chosen by the teams ranked highest following postseason tournament play. The NCAA Volleyball selection show will be streamed online on Monday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.

CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS (Nov. 15)
                                                IN-REGION         OVERALL
1 Concordia-St. Paul                     19-2                   26-2
2 Southwest Minnesota State       19-3                    25-3
3 Nebraska-Kearney                     28-2                    28-3
4 Northern State                            22-5                    23-5
5 Minnesota Duluth                     20-4                    23-5
6 Central Oklahoma                     28-4                     28-4
7 Winona State                             17-5                     21-7
8 Augustana                                 20-8                     22-8
9 Missouri Western                       20-7                     22-9
10 Arkansas Tech                         26-0                     27-0

SURVEY SAYS II: For roughly 15-plus years, the Bulldogs have been nationally ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association. UMD has been in every poll since it first appeared on Sept. 10, 2002, a stretch of 216 consecutive weeks. Only Central Missouri (ranked 18th) has a longer running active streak.  The Bulldogs checked in as the sixth best team for the second straight week.

Rank   School                                 Points    Record
1          Concordia-St. Paul (40)       1192          24-2
2          California Baptist (7)            1138          24-0
3          Lewis (1)                              1064         25-2
4          Southwest Minn. State         1029         23-3
5          Nebraska-Kearney               1012         29-2
6          Minnesota Duluth                955          22-4
7          Northern State                       915          22-4
8          Western Washington             885          21-3
9          Arkansas Tech                       768          30-0
10         Palm Beach Atlantic             727           22-3

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 return 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).

HOME COOKIN': One of the hottest tickets in the nation, UMD ranked fourth in average attendance -- first within the conference -- last season. The Bulldogs drew an average of 750 fans during their 8-3 home record. Winning 86 percent of all matches since Romano Gymnasium opened in 1977 (389-62 overall), the most recent era has been lethal, posting a 61-8 record the last five years. The Bulldogs have gone undefeated at home eight times, and have recorded at least double-digits victories in a season on 20 occasions. UMD is 11-0 so far this season and if it doesn't host the NCAA Central Region will lock up its ninth perfect record at home.

UP NEXT: The winner of the NSIC semifinal will face the winner of the Southwest Minnesota State and Augustana winner on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 2:00 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.