THE OPENING SERVE: Patiently waiting to return to action for roughly nine months, the University of Minnesota Duluth will commence the season with the 2017 Shark Invitational in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Bulldogs have four games in two days with the first match against Saint Anselm College with the first serve beginning at 1:00 p.m. CST.
 
OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE: UMD plays Saint Anselm and host Nova Southeastern University on Friday, Sept. 1. The following day, the dogs encounter American International College and Saint Leo University.
 
SCOUTING REPORT ON SAINT ANSELM: The Hawks finished last year 20-8, ending their season in the Northeast 10 conference Quarterfinals.
 
SCOUTING REPORT ON NOVA SOUTHEASTERN: The Sharks concluded 2016 with a record of 12-19, the only team UMD will play this weekend with a sub-.500 record.
 
SCOUTING REPORT ON AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL: The Yellowjackets went 28-7 and won the Northeast 10 conference tournament and bowed in the NCAA II Elite Eight to conference rival Concordia-St. Paul.
 
SCOUTING REPORT ON ST. LEO: The Lions made it to the NCAA II Tournament with an at-large bid ending the year 20-12.
 
THE SERIES: UMD is 1-0 all-time against St. Leo and Nova Southeastern and has never faced either Saint Anselm nor American International. The Bulldogs won a tightly contested five-set match against the Lions back in 2009. That win gave head coach Jim Boos his 200th career victory. UMD swept the Sharks in their only battle back in 2010.
 
HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and their opponents this weekend stack up in the AVCA poll.
 
TEAM            AVCA                POINTS
UMD                 7th                     937
ASC                  NR                       -
NSU                 NR                        -
AIC                   RV                        9
SLU                  RV                      22
 
THE BROADCAST: The Shark Invitational will be carried by the Nova Southeastern Athletic Department. Games will be streamed live with live stats and are available free at:
portal.stretchinternet.com/nova/
 
 
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. Five conference foes including the Bulldogs cracked into the top-ten. Concordia University, St. Paul and Southwest Minnesota State University settled into the number one and two spots, respectively. Winona State University was slotted fifth and Augustana University was picked 10th.
 
Rank   School                                Points         2016 Record
1       Concordia-St. Paul (38)         1149                   35-2
2       Southwest Minn. State (4)      1125                   28-6
3       Nebraska-Kearney                 1040                   35-2
4       Alaska-Anchorage (1)            1002                   34-3
5       Winona State (3)                     987                    27-6
6       Palm Beach Atlantic (2)           965                    32-4
7       UMD                                        937                    25-5
8       Lewis                                       824                    39-8
9       Angelo State                            752                    34-4
10     Augustana                               709                     27-6
 
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 412-75 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.
 
During his coaching debut, Boos was recognized by his colleagues as NSIC Coach of the Year by turning the program around with a 29-3 record, a 14 win improvement, and a romping 18-0 NSIC record.
 
In 2011, he received the same honor again for his remarkable work at attaining a share of the NSIC title for the first time since his 2002 season. His club outdid themselves three years later piling together a unblemished 20-0 league record on his way to a third coaching accolade. Altogether, Boos has claimed eight conference titles, four in the NSIC and four in the NCC.
 
The Bulldogs under the direction of Boos haven't been to kind to the NSIC or the NCC. Boos holds a staggering career conference record of 227-34.
 
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).
 
LEADERS OF THE PACK: Sarah Heesacker, Kelly Madison and Allison Olley will operate as co-pilots for the 2017 squad. All three players are serving their fourth and final collegiate seasons. Over the past three years, the three seniors have gone an impressive 81-15. That .844 winning percentage is eighth-best in the nation during that span.
 
NEW DOGS ON THE BLOCK: The Bulldogs bring in three new freshmen (Megan Freeberg, Kate Berg and Lexy Langenfeld) and a transfer for the 2017 season. Mandy Kurosky, a local native of Duluth, Minn., will sit out the 2017 season due to transfer restrictions after playing the few couple years at Northern State University.
 
2016 ACCOLADES: Junior right side hitter Sarah Kelly attained AVCA All American honorable mention honors in 2016 continuing the tradition of excellence of having at least one player earn all-american honors for the last 15 years. Kelly notched career marks with 323 kills. The Chaska, Minn. native also tied her .360 attack percentage from 2015.
 
Sophomore setter Emily Torve produced effectively after taking over for four-time all-american Ashley Hinsch. The Loretto, Minn. native claimed NSIC Freshman of the Year after displaying 11.91 assists per set and a .281 hitting percentage. Torve was also selected second team all-conference.
 
Senior middle blocker Allison Olley and junior outside hitter Makenzie Morgen each grabbed All-NSIC second team selections. Olley slid into a full-time gig last season throwing down 256 kills and 110 total blocks. Morgen, who transferred from the University of Maryland-Baltimore Country, led the club with 342 kills while also collecting 273 digs.
 
HOME COOKIN': One of the hottest tickets in the nation, UMD ranked fourth in average attendance -- first within the conference -- last season. The dogs drew an average of 750 fans during their 8-3 home record. Winning 86 percent of all matches since Romano Gymnasium opened in 1977 (383-62 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 19 occasions.
 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs head to Houghton, Mich. for the Keweenaw Tournament hosted by Michigan Technological University next weekend on Sept. 8-9.

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