THE OPENING SERVE: The University of Minnesota Duluth takes to the road for it's final regular season road trip to square off against No. 22 ranked Upper Iowa (Nov.  15) and No. 16 ranked Winona State (Nov. 16).

SCOUTING REPORT ON NO. 21 UPPER IOWA: The Peacocks are currently ranked No. 21 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Poll. UIU carries a 19-7 overall (11-7 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, good for eighth) on the year. The Peacocks are riding a three game win streak and come off a three win week, all being sweeps. They first beat (at the time) (RV) Minnesota state, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-21). They went on to sweep the University of Minnesota Crookston, 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-13). In the final game of the week for the Peacocks, they would sweep Bemidji State, 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-16).
UIU is headed by Aaron Nelson, who is in his ninth season as head coach, all with the Peacocks. He has a 136-124 (.523) all-time record.
Anna Winter is leading the offensive charge for UIU, flooring an average of 4.38 kills per set, leading the NSIC and sitting at fourth in the DII nation. She swings at a .312 clip, 15th in the NSIC, and 1.18 digs per set. Haley Weepie leads the digging category for the Peacocks, averaging a total of 4.73 digs per set on the year, ranking seventh in the NSIC.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NO. 16 WINONA STATE: The Warriors are currently ranked No. 16 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Poll. WSU carries a 20-6 overall (12-6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, sitting in sixth place) on the year. The Warriors are riding a two game win streak, winning two of three last week, dropping a match to (at the time) No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul in a four set match, 3-1. WSU went on to sweep Bemidji State, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-16) and sweep Minnesota Crookston, 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-16). Joe Getzin is in his sixth season with the Warriors, as he carries a 120-53 (.694) record with WSU. He is in his 22nd year as a head coach, with a 314-312 (.502) all-time record.
Megan Flom leads the offensive charge for the Warriors, as she averages 3.83 kills per set (9th in the NSIC, 36th in DII) while hitting at a .403 (2nd in the NSIC, 8th in DII) clip. Bre Maloney has been a solid standout for WSU, dishing out an average of 10.83 assists per set (5th in the NSIC) and has one triple double on the season, that came against Quincy College when she finished the win with 11 kills, 16 digs  and 52 assists.

THE SERIES: This will be the second time the Bulldogs have squared off against these two opponents on the year. UMD opened up NSIC play by hosting both teams. The Bulldogs would sweep both UIU (25-20, 25-21, 25-20) and WSU (25-22, 25-16, 25-19). The Bulldogs now carry a 17-0 all-time record against the Peacocks. UMD has an overall record of 78-2 against the Warriors, with the last Bulldog loss coming in 2016 when the two teams faced each other three times in the year. UMD dropped a four set loss to WSU in the NCAA tournament.

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	23-3	1ST	5
UIU	19-7	8TH	21
WSU	20-6	T-5TH	16

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: 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 had a three game week last week, squaring off against three NSIC opponents, two of them being nationally recognized in the AVCA Poll. First, the Bulldogs took on Bemidji State, where they would beat the Beavers in a four set match, 3-1 (25-15, 25-13, 24-26, 25-18). The Bulldogs then played host to No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul, and would beat the Golden Bears in four sets as well, 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-16, 25-23). In UMD's final match of the week, the Bulldogs would host (RV) Minnesota State on senior day. UMD would sweep the Mavericks, 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-11).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: The Bulldogs were able to snag two player of the week honors. Senior middle blocker Abby Thor landed Offensive Player of the Week for the first time this season, while senior setter Emily Balts landed her fourth Setter of the Week this season.

WELL STRUCK IN THE NATION: UMD currently averages 15.26 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 eighth in the nation with a 4.27 average.  The Bulldogs are hitting .264, fourth in the NSIC and 12th in DII. Senior middle blocker Abby Thor is a big help in that department. Thor swings at a .363 clip, fifth the NSIC and good for 30th in DII.

KILLING IT: Kate Berg currently sits 10th among active juniors in kills, totaling to 1,085, and sits 53rd 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 .337 clip in her career.

BLOCK PARTY: Abby Thor has 80.0 total blocks on the year and 308.0 in her career, cracking the top 10 in blocks at UMD all time. She currently sits ninth all time behind Katie Timm, who finished her career with 332.

CAN YOU DIG IT: Senior defensive specialist Keena Seiffert has a total of 1,380 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) ,  Alyson Grey (1,238) and Callie Zwettler (1,265). She currently sits eighth, and looks to pass Krista Naughton (1,408) for seventh all time with the Bulldogs.

SETTING THE BAR: The Bulldogs currently average 14.19 assists per set, leading the NSIC, DII and second across all divisions. Senior setter Emily Balts, the quarterback of the Bulldog offense, currently averages 12.36 assists on the year, good for first in the NSIC, second in DII and second across all divisions. She has averaged 12.24 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 four times 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 5,275. Rhaya Tomberlin is fifth on the UMD charts with 5,406.

ACES WILD: Sophomore setter Madison Gordon currently averages .37 aces per set, good for seventh in the NSIC.

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, Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. UMD carries a 23-3 overall record and a 16-2 NSIC record, sitting in the lone first place spot. The Bulldogs have been in every poll since it first appeared on Sept. 10, 2002, a stretch of 243 consecutive weeks. No other team has a longer active streak.
 

RANK	SCHOOL (FPV)	POINTS	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1	Cal State San Bernardino (43)	1147	22-0	1
2	Nebraska-Kearney (3)	1107	28-0	2
3	Washburn	1034	24-2	3
4	Western Washington	1000	23-1	4
5	Minnesota Duluth	976	23-3	5
6	Concordia-St. Paul	849	20-6	6
7	Northern State	822	22-4	7
8	Regis	804	23-3	9
9	St. Cloud State	763	21-5	8
10	Central Missouri	707	20-7	10

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs prepare to find out who they will play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Tournament. The NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament will be held in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, SD.