THE OPENING SERVE: The No. 1 University of Minnesota Duluth will compete in the 2018 Wildcat Open, a crossover between the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, in Marquette, Mich. The Bulldogs will take on Michigan Tech University and Northern Michigan on Friday, Aug. 31. The next day, UMD will face Lake Superior State University and Northwood University Saturday, Sept. 1.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MICHIGAN TECH: The Huskies nearly left the Alaska Anchorage Invitational with a perfect record but they fell in a five-set thriller to the host Seawolves to go 3-1. Matt Jennings is in his seventh season with Michigan Tech.
Olivia Ghormley has 74 kills and 4.35 kills per set including a 30-kill effort against Alaska Anchorage. She is hitting a robust .337 from the outside. Anna Jonynas had an all-around stellar weekend with 3.06 kills per set and 4.12 digs per set. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHERN MICHIGAN: The Wildcats started the season 4-0 at the Capital Classic hosted by Illinois-Springfield. Mike Lozier is back for his second season at the helm of the Wildcats.
Maggie Lieback, Leticia Antunes and Autumn Monsma each tallied above 3.13 kills per set on the opening weekend. Lieback led the way with 53 kills while smashing home kills at a .404-clip. Rachel Braunschweig was a digging machine posting 4.13 digs per set.

SCOUTING REPORT ON LAKE SUPERIOR STATE: The Lakers dropped all four matches in the Ferris State Invitational last week. They lost a pair of five setters to Clarion and Rollins. Lake Superior State is in its second season under head coach Dave Schmidlin after a 3-22 record a season ago.
The Lakers struggled offensively hitting .085 last week. Amanda Reid is leading the Lakers with 2.56 kills per set while hitting .108. Lake Superior State have racked up 19.1 digs per set, 28th best in the nation. Paige Gotham leads the team with 4.31 digs per set.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHWOOD: The Wolves went 1-3 in the Pioneer Volleyball Invitational in Denton, Texas to open the season. Their lone win came against Florida Tech in four sets. Northwood is coached by third-year head coach David Shumaker.
Meredith Collins and Mackenzie Kepler have led the Wolves throughout the first four games. Collins leads the team with 3.14 kills per set and 3.57 digs per set. Kepler is the main attacker with 140 attacks with 2.79 kills per set. Northwood is hitting .144 on the season.

THE SERIES: UMD has a solid stranglehold against its GLIAC opponents, netting an overall record of 77- 29 (.726). The Bulldogs grabbed victories last season against Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State in a similar tournament. UMD is 29-7 versus Michigan Tech, 27-15 versus Northern Michigan and 20-5 against Lake Superior State. Northwood has only faced the Bulldogs three times and have a slight 2-1 advantage in the series. The last contest between those two squads came in 1988.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its opponents this weekend stack up in the AVCA poll.
TEAM            RECORD        AVCA POLL
UMD                    4-0                    1st
MTU                    3-1                    NR
NMU                    4-0                    RV
LSSU                   0-4                    NR
NU                       1-3                    NR

THE BROADCAST: The matches this weekend will be carried live through a video stream and is available for a daily fee at: portal.stretchinternet.com/nmu/

For those interested in live stats fan click the link below and select the specific game: umdbulldogs.com/schedule.aspx?path=wvball

LAST SIDE OUT: UMD left the Flagler Saints Invitational asthe only undefeated team last weekend. The Bulldogs went 4-0 dispatching Findlay, Flagler, Erskine and Saint Leo. The opening match provided the most entertainment and uneasiness. Findlay rallied all the way back from 2-0 and had four match points in the fifth to upset the Bulldogs. UMD fought back to final the decisive fifth set 18-16. From there, the Bulldogs would sweep the rest of the field. 

SURVEY SAYS: For roughly 16-plus years, the Bulldogs have been nationally ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
After turning in a successful 4-0 opening weekend, the UMD assumed the No. 1 spot in this week's AVCA poll. It marks the 20th time in program history a Bulldog club has locked down the top billing. The Bulldogs have been in every poll since it first appeared on Sept. 10, 2002, a stretch of 220 consecutive weeks. No other team has a longer active streak.
 

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	Points	2018 Record
1	UMD (31)	1147	4-0
2	Concordia-St. Paul (6)	1056	3-1
3	Lewis (2)	1003	4-0
4	Ferris State (7)	960	4-0
5	Nebraska Kearney	912	4-0
6	Rockhurst	867	4-0
7	Northern State	838	4-0
8	Southwest Minnesota State (1)	822	2-2
9	Cal State San Bernardino	808	4-0
10	Regis	743	2-2

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will have their 2018 home opener next Thursday, Sept. 6 against Bemidji State University at AMSOIL Arena.