THE OPENING SERVE: The No. 4 University of Minnesota Duluth takes to the road this weekend to face off against the UMary Marauders on Oct. 4 then go on to play the Minot State Beavers on Oct. 5.

SCOUTING REPORT ON UMARY: The Marauders are currently sitting at 1-11 on the year, taking on Augustana and Wayne State (Neb.) last weekend, losing in straight sets in both contests. UMary beat New Mexico Highlands University in the New Victorian Inn & Suites/Runza Fall Classic. Korie Tetzlaff returns for her second season as head coach with an overall record of 5-35.
Morgan Schnabel comes into the weekend averaging 3.30 kills a set, putting her at 11th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. She also is averaging 2.27 digs per set and has 17.0 blocks (.39 b/s) on the year. Natalia Cruz is currently sitting at 17th in the NSIC, averaging 3.41 (150 in total) digs a set. She has 31 assists as well on the year. Sydney Murphy is averaging 8.3 assists per set, good for 11th in the NSIC.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINOT STATE: The Beavers come off a weekend off two losses, one to (previously ranked No. 17) No. 15 Wayne State and Augustana University. The Beavers came away with one set win on the weekend. Dana Cordova is in her third season as head coach for Minot state, boasting a 18-53 record. Cordova led the Beavers to most successful season in their Division II era in 2018, finishing with a 13-17 record.
Shelby Spuller is currently averaging 2.55 kills per set this year. She also has 56 digs on the year, good for a 1.40 average though Minots first 12 games. Mackenzie Frolehlich is sitting in 12th in the NSIC for assists per set, dishing out 6.97/set.

THE SERIES: UMD has fared well against the Marauders and the Beavers. The Bulldogs are currently 16-0 against UMary, taking both contests last year 3-0. UMD hasn't dropped a set against the Marauders in almost  10 years (in a win on Oct. 16, 2009), a streak of 37 consecutive sets. The Bulldogs have also been unbeaten by the Beavers, sitting 10-0 overall. UMD was able to sweep Minot State in both matches last season. The Bulldogs have yet to drop a set against the Beavers, dating back to Oct. 6, 2012.
 
HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its opponents this weekend stack up in their overall records, the NSIC standings and in the AVCA poll.
 

UMD	11-1	T-1	3
UMARY	1-11	T-4	NR
MISU	0-12	T-4	NR

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: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/umd/

For those interested in live stats only follow the link and click on the stats button: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd/

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs come off a weekend where they swept the No. 7 Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears and beat the (at the time) (RV) Minnesota State Mavericks in a 3-1 battle.

RECAPPING THE 2018 SEASON: The Bulldogs were 28-6 last season and finished 17-3 in the NSIC. UMD had tied for the NSIC regular season championship with Northern State, as well as winning the NSIC Tournament. The Bulldogs were dealt a loss at the hands of the eventual NCAA central regional champions, Washburn university.

WELL STRUCK IN THE NATION: UMD currently averages 15.82 kills per set, good for tops in both the NSIC and the nation across all divisions. A big part of that average is  junior outside hitter Kate Berg, who currently is sitting fifth in the NSIC and 13th in the nation with a 4.29 average.  The Bulldogs are hitting .279, third in the NSIC and seventh in DII. Senior middle blocker Abby Thor is a big help in that department, striking at a .399 percent. She currently sits at  20th in the nation in DII and fourth in the NSIC.

KILLING IT: Kate Berg currently sits 15th among active juniors in kills, totaling to 867, and sits 77 among all active DII players. Abby Thor is currently sitting 14th among active DII players and just outside the top 25 across all divisions in hitting percentage, with a .337 clip in her career.

CAN YOU DIG IT: Senior defensive specialist Keena Seiffert has a total of 1,108 digs in her career, sitting 57th among seniors, and 77th among all active players in DII. She sits just outside of the top 10 in digs at UMD, and is looking to pass Kate (Lange) Sterns for 10th. Sterns finished her career with 1,235 digs.

SETTING THE BAR: The Bulldogs currently average 14.50 assists per set, sitting at first in DII and second acorss all divisions. Senior setter Emily Balts, the quarterback of the Bulldog offense, currently averages 12.53 assists on the year, good for first in the NSIC, second in DII and second across all divisions. She has avaraged 12.26 assists per set in her career, leading the nation across all divisions among active players. She notched the Setter of the Week award last week, the second time she was bestowed the honor this year. She was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American second team in 2018. Emily Balts moved up to sixth all-time among set assists, and currently has 4,657. Rhaya Tomberlin is fifth on the UMD charts with 5,406.

ACES WILD: Sophomore setter Madison Gordon currently averages .45 aces per set, good for fifth in the NSIC and tied for 86th in DII.

SURVEY SAYS: For roughly 17-plus years, the Bulldogs have been nationally ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association. UMD receives the No. 4 ranking after tuning in a 4-0 performance at the St. Cloud State Invite and improving to 7-1 on the season. The Bulldogs have been in every poll since it first appeared on Sept. 10, 2002, a stretch of 237 consecutive weeks. No other team has a longer active streak.
 

Rank	School	Points	Record	Previous
1	Cal State S.B. (39)	1142	11-0	1
2	Western Washington (6)	1103	12-0	2
3	Minnesota Duluth (1)	1033	11-1	4
4	Nebraska-Kearney	1020	12-0	3
5	Washburn	937	11-1	5
6	Lewis	906	12-1	6
7	Concordia - St. Paul	853	9-3	7
8	Southwest Minnesota State	836	10-2	9
9	Northern State	791	10-2	8
10	NW Missouri State	681	11-1	11

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will play host next weekend for Dig Pink and Alumni Weekend. No. 9 Northern State comes to Duluth on Oct. 11, then MSU Moorhead makes their way to Romano on Oct.12.