THE OPENING SERVE: The University of Minnesota Duluth continues its home stand this weekend, playing host to a pair of nationally recognized opponents in the American Volleyball Association DII poll. The Bulldogs host No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul (Nov. 8) and (RV) Minnesota State (Nov. 9).

SENIORS REJOICE: The Bulldog senior class will be recognized after Saturday game against the Minnesota State Mavericks.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NO. 6 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL: The Golden Bears come off a four set win over the No. 16 ranked Winona State Warriors, 3-1 (25-20, 15-25, 25-23, 25-23). CSP finished last weekend with a weekend sweep over MInnesota State, 3-0, and (at the time) No. 22 Upper Iowa, 3-0. The Golden Bears moved up to a lone No. 6 ranking in the AVCA DII poll this week, which came out Nov. 4, before they defeated No. 16 WSU. Brady Starkey continues to head the squad, improving his overall record to 543-62 in his 17 seasons at the helm. His .898 win percentage currently leads all active DII coaches, and just ahead of Jim Boos (who sits third with .843). That .898 also leads all active coaches across all divisions.
Jasmine Mulvihill has been leading the offense, with Erin Fallert right behind her. Mulvihill has averaged 3.97 kills per set (9th in the NSIC) while hitting .304 (15th in the NSIC). Fallert has managed 3.07 kills per set, swinging at a .253 clip for the season. Fallert has also put work in on the defensive side of the ball, averaging 3.57 digs per set. Tori Hanson leads the digging category, sitting at 4.56 per set (6th in the NSIC).
 
SCOUTING REPORT ON (RV) MINNESOTA STATE: The Mavericks come fresh off a loss to the (at the time) No. 22 ranked Upper Iowa, being swept, 3-1 (21-25, 22-25, 21-25). MSU did also drop both weekend matches, first losing in a sweep to the (at the time) No. 6 ranked CSP, 3-0, then falling to (at the time) No. 16 ranked Winona State Warriors in four sets, 3-1. Minnesota State continues to receive votes in the AVCA DII poll, garnaring 12 votes this week, versus the 43 they were able to accumulate in last week's poll. Lori Rittenhouse-Wollmuth continues to move the Mavericks along in their solid year and carries an oversall record of 80-59 (.576) in her five year span at the helm.
Morgan Olson leads the attack with 4.70 (leading the NSIC, sitting 4th in DII). kills per set, clipping at .323 for the year (13th in the NSIC). Mara Quam is leading the defensive side of the ball, averaging 4.57 digs per set (5th in the NSIC).

THE SERIES: This will be the second time the Bulldogs have squared off against these two opponents on the year, with UMD sweeping the Golden Bears, 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 28-26) in St. Paul, and beating the Mavericks in four sets, 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 25-23) in Mankato. The Bulldogs carry the lead in the overall series with both teams, fairing better against the Mavericks than the Golden Bears, with CSP almost breaking even in the series. After the matches earlier this year, UMD leads the Mavericks 50-18 and the Golden Bears 27-25.

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	21-3	T-1ST	5
CSP	20-4	T-1ST	6
MSU	15-9	T-9TH	RV

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 took on Bemidji State on Tuesday evening, beating the Beavers in four sets, 3-1 (25-15, 25-13, 24-26, 25-18). With that win, UMD went 2-1 through last Thursday. The only match the Bulldogs dropped was against the SCSU Huskies, losing in four sets, 3-1, a match where sister setters Emily Balts and Maddy Torve squared off for possibly the last time in their collegiate careers. UMD went on to Saturday, sweeping the UMC Golden Eagles, 3-0.

WELL STRUCK IN THE NATION: UMD currently averages 15.29 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 ninth in the nation with a 4.28 average.  The Bulldogs are hitting .265, third in the NSIC and eleventh in DII. Senior middle blocker Abby Thor is a big help in that department. Thor swings at a .358 clip, fifth the NSIC and good for 45th in DII.

KILLING IT: Kate Berg currently sits 10th among active juniors in kills, totaling to 1,038, and sits 58th among all active DII players. Abby Thor is currently sitting 20th among active DII players and just outside the top 25 across all divisions in hitting percentage, with a .332 clip in her career.

BLOCK PARTY: Abby Thor has 73 total blocks on the year and 301.0 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 1,351 digs in her career, sitting 56th among seniors, and 74th 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 14.14 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 12.25 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 three 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 5,145. 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. 3 ranking after turning in a two win weekend, with a sweep over Sioux Falls and a reverse sweep of Southwest Minnesota State, improving to 19-2 overall (12-1 in the NSIC), sitting in the lone first spot in the NSIC. The Bulldogs have been in every poll since it first appeared on Sept. 10, 2002, a stretch of 242 consecutive weeks. No other team has a longer active streak.
 

RANK	SCHOOL	POINTS	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1	Cal St. - S.B (43)	1147	21-0	1
2	Nebraska-Kearney (3)	1107	26-0	2
3	Washburn	1027	22-2	4
4	Western Washington	990	21-1	5
5	Minnesota Duluth	940	21-3	3
6	Concordia-St. Paul	928	20-4	6
7	Northern State	915	20-3	7
8	St. Cloud State	757	19-4	11
9	Regis	745	20-3	10
10	Central Missouri	684	18-7	9

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will hit the road for the final NSIC matches, heading to Fayette, Iowa to take on the No. 22 Upper Iowa Peacocks (Nov. 15) before heading to Winona, Minn. to finish the regular season against the No. 16 Winona State Warriors (Nov. 16).