THE OPENING SERVE: The University of Minnesota Duluth comes home this weekend to square off against the (RV) Sioux Falls Cougars (Oct. 25) and the No. 11 Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs (Oct. 26).

SCOUTING REPORT ON (RV) SIOUX FALLS: The Cougars are currently 14-5 overall (6-5 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, good for ninth). Sioux Falls comes off three game week where they went to five sets with Augustana University and won (25-15, 25-23, 18-25, 18-25, 15-10). The Cougars also swept the two matches they had on the weekend, beating the University of Minnesota Crookston (25-11, 25-15, 25-19) and Bemidji State University (33-31, 25-16, 25-21).Head coach Joel McCartney is in his ninth season at the helm of the squad. He carries a record of 143-120 (.544) and an overall record of 487-275 (.639) in his 23 season career.
KaSandra Springer is having a hot year for the Cougars, averaging 5.03 points per set, ranked first in the NSIC and seventh in DII. She is also averaging 4.07 kills per set, leading the team, sitting seventh in the NSIC and 28th in DII. She is currently swinging at a .252 clip. Abby Feyereisen is leading the team in attacking percentage, swinging at a .388 clip. She ranks third is the NSIC and 14th in DII. She also has 44.0 blocks on the year, second on the team to Kenzie Byers's 53.0.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NO. 11 SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE: The Mustangs come off a three game week where they went 2-1. The loss coming to (at the time) No. 11 Wayne State (Ne.) in five sets (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 14-25, 10-15). The wins came in a sweep against the Bemidji State University (25-18, 25-21, 25-16) and a four set win against the University of Minnesota Crookston (25-13, 25-17, 25-27, 25-14). The Mustangs now carry a 13-6 overall (7-4 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, tied for eighth). Terry Culhane is in his 16th season at the helm of the squad, carrying a 405-112 (.783) record. Culhane sits 14th in win percentage amongst active DII coaches.
Angela Young leads Southwest Minnesota State in kills per set this season, flooring an average of 4.23 kills a set and swinging at .252 clip for the year. She sits second on the team in digs, digging 2.64 per set. Payton Hjerleid leads the Mustangs in digs this year, averaging 3.90 per set.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs carry a 11-1 record over Sioux Falls, beating them in the last meeting in a sweep. The Bulldogs have won the last four meetings in the past two years and have only dropped one set in that stint. UMD has had a little more experience when it comes to Southwest Minnesota State, playing them a total of 84 times, winning 66 of them and taking the last meeting between the two teams in four sets. The Bulldogs are 3-2 against the Mustangs in the last two years, dropping a total of eight sets in that span.

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.
 

SCHOOL	OVERALL	NSIC	AVCA
UMD	17-2	T-1st	5th
USF	14-5	9th	RV
SMSU	13-6	T-8th	11th

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 are coming off a three match week, where they swept Bemidji State University (25-17, 26-24, 26-24), a five set win over (at the time) No. 11 Wayne State (25-18, 24-26, 21-25, 25-14, 15-11) and a sweep over Augustana University (25-22, 25-20, 25-14). UMD moved up two spots in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll to claim a lone fifth spot.

SEEKING A GRAND: Junior outside hitter Kate Berg has 978 kills in her career, and is on pace to break the 1,000 kill mark before the end of the season.

WELL STRUCK IN THE NATION: UMD currently averages 15.43 kills per set, good for tops in both the NSIC and nation across all divisions. A big part of that average is  junior outside hitter Kate Berg, who currently is sitting third in the NSIC and seventh in the nation with a 4.35 average.  The Bulldogs are hitting .272, second in the NSIC and seventh in DII. Senior middle blocker Abby Thor is a big help in that department. Thor swings at a .374 clip, sixth the NSIC and good for 24th in DII.

KILLING IT: Kate Berg currently sits 13th among active juniors in kills, totaling to 978, and sits 64th among all active DII players. Abby Thor is currently sitting 18th among active DII players and just outside the top 25 across all divisions in hitting percentage, with a .336 clip in her career.

CAN YOU DIG IT: Senior defensive specialist Keena Seiffert has a total of 1,248 digs in her career, sitting 56th among seniors, and 71st among all active players in DII. She has cracked into the top 10 at UMD for defensive digs, passing Kate (Lange) Sterns (1,235) and Alyson Grey (1,238). She currently sits ninth, and looks to pass Callie Zwettler (1,265) for eighth all time with the Bulldogs.

SETTING THE BAR: The Bulldogs currently average 14.35 assists per set, leading the NSIC, sitting at second in DII and second across all divisions. Senior setter Emily Balts, the quarterback of the Bulldog offense, currently averages 12.46 assists on the year, good for first in the NSIC, second in DII and second across all divisions. She has averaged 12.26 assists per set in her career, leading the nation across all divisions among active players. She has notched setter of the week in the NSIC twice so far 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 at UMD, and currently has 4,966. Rhaya Tomberlin is fifth on the UMD charts with 5,406.

ACES WILD: Sophomore setter Madison Gordon currently averages .43 aces per set, good for third in the NSIC and tied for 81st 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. 5 ranking after turning in a three win week over Bemidji State, Wayne State (Neb.) and  Augstana, improving to 17-2, 10-1 (T-1ST) in the NSIC. The Bulldogs have been in every poll since it first appeared on Sept. 10, 2002, a stretch of 240 consecutive weeks. No other team has a longer active streak.
 

RANK	SCHOOL	POINTS	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1	Cal State - S.B. (46)	1150	17-0	1
2	Nebraska-Kearny	1099	19-0	3
T-3	Northern State	1005	17-2	6
T-3	Washburn	1005	17-2	4
5	Minnesota Duluth	967	17-2	7
6	Western Washington	956	17-1	2
7	Concordia-St. Paul	827	15-4	5
8	Wayne State (Neb.)	752	17-3	11
9	Lewis	716	19-3	10
10	Central Missouri	663	14-6	9

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will take to the road to face off against No. 13 St. Cloud State (Oct. 31), before coming back to Duluth, Minn. to play host to Minnesota Crookston (Nov. 2), then host Bemidji State (Nov. 5).

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