THE OPENING SERVE: The University of Minnesota Duluth will be put to test this weekend with the start of a four-match road stint. The No. 7 Bulldogs square off against Minnesota State University Mankato, the last Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference member to face UMD this season. That NSIC contest will take place Friday, Oct. 19 at 6:00 p.m. No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul encounters UMD Saturday, Oct. 20 at 5:00 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINNESOTA STATE: The Mavericks (15-7; 8-6 NSIC) have won four of their five matches and are tied for seventh in the NSIC. 
Minnesota State is averaging 13.5 kills per set, 13.1 assists per set, 14.3 digs per set, and 2.1 blocks per set. The Mavericks have a .258 attack percentage and opponents are hitting .193. The 1.7 aces per set is the best mark in the NSIC.
The offense flows through Morgan Olsen and Alivia Garbe. Olsen is second in the conference with 4.42 kills per set and hitting .397 for the season, third among the league leaders. Garbe is second on the team with 3.16 kills per set. The Mavericks run a 6-2 system with Micayla Porter and Lauren Lowry taking turns at setter. Mara Quam leads the club with 4.90 digs per set, which is fifth in the conference.

SCOUTING REPORT ON CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL: The No. 3 Golden Bears (19-4; 13-1 NSIC) have won five straight after being defeated by UMD. Concordia-St. Paul is tied  for the top spot with Northern State but don't have the tiebreaker.
The Golden Bears are averaging the nation's best kills per set at 15.1, second in Division II with 14.4 assists per set, 16.4 digs per set, and 1.6 blocks per set. Concordia has a .283 attack percentage, fourth in the nation, and opponents are hitting .187.
Brooklyn Lewis leads the team with 321 kills, averaging 3.96 per set, while hitting .359. Hope Schiller is averaging 3.09 kills per set and 3.23 digs per set. Elizabeth Mohr has dished out 1,063 assists, and leads the nation averaging 13.12 assists per set. Tori Hanson paces the defense with 383 digs, averaging 4.73 per set, which is sixth best in the NSIC. Sara Macek leads the team at the net with 60 total blocks and has a .417 hitting percentage, the club's highest hitting clip, on 3.10 kills per set.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs lead the all-time series against the Mavericks 48-18 dating back to 1976. Friday will be the first matchup since UMD steam rolled MSU last season in three sets.
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series against the Golden Bears 26-24 dating back to 1976. UMD  won the non-conference contest at Romano Gymnasiumo on Oct. 3 with a straight-set sweep.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its opponent stack up with their overall records, the NSIC standings and in the AVCA poll.

THE BROADCAST: All NSIC matches throughout the season will be carried live through a video stream with live stat capabilities. Both matches this weekend and is available for free at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs swept Winona State University and Upper Iowa University at home last weekend. Junior defensive specialist Keena Seiffert recorded a career high 26 digs versus the Warriors. Sophomore outside hitter Kate Berg and senior right side hitter Sarah Kelly each compiled 14 kills and senior outside hitter Makenzie Morgen dropped eight kills and 15 digs in the win Friday night. Kelly posted a game-leading 16 kills against the Peacocks. Berg tallied her fifth double-double Saturday with 10 kills and 13 digs. 

NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: A pair of Bulldogs -- junior middle blocker Abby Thor and junior setter Emily Torve -- have been honored by the NSIC with its weekly honors. Thor was named the NSIC Offensive Player of Week on Oct. 1. Torve has been selected the NSIC Setter of the Week each of the last four weeks.

SETTING THE BAR: Junior setter Emily Torve continues to showcase world class form. The quarterback of the Bulldog offense notched consecutive Setter of the Week awards in the last four weeks, a believe-to-be league first. Last week, Torve was the first to three-peat that honor since 2014 when Bulldog almuna Ashley Hinsch rolled off three consecutive honors. For Torve, she has eight NSIC setting awards. During her superior run, the Bulldogs are hitting .301 and averaging 15.8 kills per set. Torve has 475 assists or 13.5 assists per set.

SURVEY SAYS: For roughly 16-plus years, the Bulldogs have been nationally ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association. UMD has been ranked in the top 10 in every poll this season and checked in at No. 7 on Monday for the second conscutive week. The Bulldogs have been in every poll since it first appeared on Sept. 10, 2002 -- a stretch of 227 consecutive weeks. No other team has a longer active streak.

PULLING RANK: UMD is 3-1 against ranked teams this season. The Bulldogs have defeated No. 25 Flagler and No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul in straight sets and upset top-ranked Northern State in five sets. The only lost was to No. 10 Southwest Minnesota State.

BEARING DOWN: The Bulldogs have not swept the regular season series with the Golden Bears since 2014.

PACK A LUNCH: The UMD-Concordia-St. Paul showdowns have gone five sets in three of the last six matches.

STRANGLED AT THE GANGLE: The Bulldogs have defeated the Golden Bears only twice in the last eight meetings at the Ganglehoff Center. The last win by UMD came on Sept. 30, 2016. 

ROUNDING UP THE MAVS: UMD has dominated the last 10 matches going 8-2. The Bulldogs have won three straight. The last win for Minnesota State came in Mankato in a four-set win on Oct. 23, 2015.

ALL BUT GAME OVER: UMD is 17-0 this season when it leads 2-0 going into the intermission. Since the change to 25-point format in 2008, the Bulldogs are 237-2.

OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT: The Bulldog offense is once again near the top of the NCAA Division II charts. The .267 hitting percentage is ninth in the nation. The 14.77 kills per set is third in the nation and second in the NSIC and UMD has the third highest assists per set in the country with 14.1.

BLOCK PARTY: The Bulldogs are averaging 2.25 per set, which is good for second in the conference and 24th in the nation.

THE HAMMER OF THE BLOCK: Junior middle blocker Abby Thor has 79 blocks on the year and is on pace to becoming the third blocker in consecutive seasons to compile at least a block per set. She has 1.03 blocks per set, which is seventh in the NSIC and 76th among her peers. She could become the third different Bulldog in the last four years to rack up at least 100 blocks in a season.

ON LOCKDOWN: Teams are hitting .149 against the Bulldogs this season. That clip is impressive with six teams in top 15 in terms of attack percentage. That .149 mark is the 51st best in Division II and the top mark in the NSIC.

CHASING THE 1,000-KILL CLUB: Senior outside hitter Makenzie Morgen would be in line to become the next Bulldog to hit the 1,000-kill mark. Morgen has 1,226 kills combining her playing days with the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Currently, the Appleton, Wis., native is 46 kills away from becoming the 21st member of the Bulldog club.

MOVING UP THE 1,000-KILL CLUB CHARTS: Senior right side hitter Sarah Kelly joined a distinctive group of 19 other Bulldogs to achieve at least 1,000 kills. Kelly has 1,184 kills for her career moving her past April Hansen for 11th amongst the program. She is 66 kills away from passing Kari Wolford (1,250) and cracking into the top 10.

LIGHT IT UP: Senior right side hitter Sarah Kelly is fourth in the nation among active career hitting percentages. Kelly is the top senior in terms of hitting percentage attacking at a .383 clip. As it stands, the Chaska, Minn., native is on pace to shatter the best UMD mark set at .361 by both Monica Turner and Sarah Wyffels.  

SET IT AND FORGET IT: Junior setter Emily Torve moved up to eighth all-time among set assists at UMD last year and currently sits with 3,671. Krista Naugton is seventh on the UMD charts with 3,847.

THE COMPLETE SET: On a national stage, junior setter Emily Torve has the reputation of directing a few of the nation's best hitters and offenses during her stint. The Bulldogs have had the fifth and fourth best offensive hitting percentages the past two seasons. Pile those successes and Torve has the highest assists per set among active setters across all NCAA divisions registering at 12.12 assists per set. In addition, her 3,671 career assists is 16th among active Division II players and the most by a junior.

Top 5 Active Career Leaders in Assists Per Set
1 Emily Torve, UMD 12.12
2 Ashley Rozell, Northern St. 12.09
3 Laura DeMarchi, Michigan Tech 11.88
4 Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Minnesota 11.82
5 Madison Lilley, Kentucky 11.75

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs wrap up their final two regular season road matches next weekend against No. 1 Northern State and Minnesota State Moorhead.