THE OPENING SERVE: The University of Minnesota Duluth will continue the non-conference grind with their second tournament in Houghton, Mich. The Bulldogs have four games in two days with the first match against Lake Superior State University with the first serve beginning at 8:30 a.m. CST.

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE: UMD plays Lake Superior State and Northern Michigan University on Friday, Sept. 8. The following day, the dogs encounter the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Michigan Technological University. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON LAKE SUPERIOR STATE: The Lakers went 1-1 in non-conference action to start the season. LSSU relies on the right arm of Amanda Reid, who has 21 kills in their two matches and is second on the team in digs. The Lakers ended 2016 with a record of 3-26.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHERN MICHIGAN: The Wildcats concluded this past week going 3-1 dropping their only game to Northern Sun Intercollegiate foe Upper Iowa University. Four players average at least two kills per set, with Kayla Chosa leading the pack hitting-wise (.417). 

SCOUTING REPORT ON WISCONSIN-PARKSIDE: The Rangers will show up as the only Bulldog opponent under the .500 mark. UWP took down Ohio Dominican University for head coach Dominic Yoder's first win with the Rangers.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MICHIGAN TECH: The Huskies finished 2-2 at the Hillsdale Tournament. Both of their setbacks were in five sets. MacAulay Peterson anchors the attack with a 3.31 kills per set. Elle Heinonen patrols the backcourt with 69 digs on the season.

THE SERIES: UMD has a collective winning record of 86-28 against all four teams they square off against in the tournament. Here how the Bulldogs have done against their competition.

Lakers -- 19-5
Wildcats -- 26-15
Rangers -- 13-1
Michigan Tech -- 28-7

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and their opponents this weekend stack up in the AVCA poll.

TEAM        RANK
UMD             7th
LSSU            NR
NWU             NR
UWP             NR
MTU              NR

THE BROADCAST: The Shark Invitational will be carried by the Nova Southeastern Athletic Department. All games will have live stats capabilities and the match against Michigan Tech will be streamed live. The broadcast are available free.

Live Stats vs. LSSU
Live Stats vs. NMU
Live Stats vs. UWP
Live Stats / Live Video at MTU

LAST SIDE OUT: The Bulldogs finished the Shark Invitational 3-1 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. UMD ran off three straight victories to begin the season before succumbing to St. Leo University in four sets in the nightcap Saturday. 

Junior right side hitter Sarah Kelly as named to the all-tournament team for her efforts last weekend. Kelly had 47 kills on 73 swings, good for a tournament-high .575 percentage. 

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 stayed put one week into the year. Four conference foes including the Bulldogs sit atop the top ten with Concordia University, St. Paul and Southwest Minnesota State University settling into the number one and two spots, respectively. Augustana University bumped up a spot from the preseason poll. 

Rank   School                               Points      Record

1         Concordia-St. Paul (45)         1197         4-0
2         Southwest Minn. State (3)     1131         4-0
3         Lewis                                     1063         4-0
4         Palm Beach Atlantic              1032         3-0
5         Nebraska-Kearney                 967          3-1
6         Angelo State                           947          4-0
7         Minnesota Duluth                   868          3-1
8         Ferris State                             797          4-0
9         Augustana (SD)                      746          3-1
10        Western Washington             720          3-1

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 415-76 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: 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 with start league action with a match up against St. Cloud State University. Romano Gymnasium will be the host of the 2017 home opener scheduled for Tuesday evening.

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