THE OPENING SERVE: The University of Minnesota Duluth takes to the road to compete in the NCAA DII Central regional tournament after obtaining the second seed. The tournament takes place in Nebraska-Kearney, where Kearney has obtained the No. 1 seed in the regional to host. The Bulldogs will take on the seventh seeded (No. 9 in the AVCA Poll) Central Missouri Jennies. The Tournament is a winner moves on style tournament, meaning if you lose, you are doe.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NO. 9 CENTRAL MISSOURI: The Jennies come into the Central Regional ranked as the seventh seed, and sit No. 9 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association DII Poll and carry a 23-9 overall record. UCM bowed out in the championship round of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association tournament. The Jennies beat Central Oklahoma (3-1) and Washburn (3-2) in the opening and semifinals to get to the finals, where they would fall to Nebraska-Kearney (1-3). In their past 10 matches, the Jennies are 7-3, with two losses being at the hands of Kearney, and one being to Washburn just before the MIAA tournament. Flip Piontek is at the helm again this year, sitting in his 11th season as head coach with UCM. He carries a 303-79 (.806) all-time record with the Jennies.
UCM has six players with more than 200 kills this season, with three totaling over 250. Audrey Fisher is leading the way with 315 (2.58 per set), while swinging at a .363 clip for the season. She sits second on the team in blocks with 79.0 (12 S, 67 A) on the year. Hannah Engelken leads the way in the blocking department, sitting with 114.0 on the year. Engelken is sitting third on the squad in kills with 262 (2.17 per set). Ally Offerdahl is second on the squad in digs per set, sitting with 384 (3.15 per set). She leads the team in assists with 1305 (10.70 per set).

THE SERIES: This will be the second time in as many years the Bulldogs will square off against the Jennies to open up the NCAA Central Regional. UMD walked away last year with a 3-0 win over UCM. The Bulldogs lost to Washburn last season in the Central Regional, dropping three straight to the eventual winner of the regional. UMD carries a 5-11 all-time record against the Jennies.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and the NCAA DII Central region field this weekend stack up in their overall records, the central region seedings and in the AVCA poll.
 

SCHOOL	OVERALL	REGIONAL	AVCA
UMD	24-6	2ND	6TH
UCM	23-9	7TH	9TH
UNK	33-0	1ST	2ND
OKLA	28-5	8TH	NR
CSP	25-7	3RD	3RD
WU	27-3	6TH	5TH
NSU	24-5	4TH	8TH
SCSU	25-6	5TH	7TH

THE BROADCAST: The matches this weekend will be carried live through a video stream and is available for free at: https://themiaanetwork.com/

For those interested in live stats only follow the link: https://lopers.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs come off a weekend off. Before the break, UMD took part in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament that took place in Sioux Falls, SD. The Bulldogs would lose in the second round to the eventual champions of the tournament, Concordia-St. Paul. The Bulldogs were selected as the second seed in the central region of the NCAA DII region, squaring off against the seventh seed in Central Missouri. The NSIC is represented with four teams in the tournament, with UMD being ranked in second, Concordia-St. Paul sitting with the third seed. Northern State as the fourth seed taking on the fifth seeded St. Cloud State University.

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 DII central regional champions, Washburn university.

WELL STRUCK IN THE NATION: UMD currently averages 14.83 kills per set, good for tops in the NSIC and third in DII. A big part of that average is junior outside hitter Kate Berg, who currently is sitting third in the NSIC and 10th in the nation with a 4.24 average.  The Bulldogs are hitting .249, seventh in the NSIC and 24th in DII. Senior middle blocker Abby Thor is a big help in that department. Thor swings at a .338 clip, seventh the NSIC and good for 54th in DII.

KILLING IT: Kate Berg currently sits ninth among active juniors in kills, totaling to 1,153, and sits 49th among all active DII players. Abby Thor is currently sitting 23rd among active DII players in hitting percentage with a .329 clip in her career.

BLOCK PARTY: Abby Thor has 93.0 total blocks on the year and 321.0 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 1,447 digs in her career, sitting 56th among seniors, and 67th 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),  Callie Zwettler (1,265), Krista Naughton (1,408) and Julie Bubar (1,443). She currently sits sixth. She is looking to pass Chelsea Meirotto (1,480) for fifth all time with the Bulldogs.

SETTING THE BAR: The Bulldogs currently average 13.87 assists per set, leading the NSIC, third in DII and fifth across all divisions. Senior setter Emily Balts, the quarterback of the Bulldog offense, currently averages 12.08 assists per set on the year, good for first in the NSIC, third in DII and third across all divisions. She has averaged 12.19 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 fifth all-time among set assists at UMD, and currently has 5,462. Greta Iisakka is fourth on the UMD charts with 5,537.

ACES WILD: Sophomore setter Madison Gordon currently averages .32 aces per set, good for a tie for 11th in the NSIC.

GLAD TO HAVE YOU BACK: UMD returns 10 letterwinners to the 2018 squad, including four starters and a libero. Those four starters are: senior setter Emily Balts, senior middle blocker Abby Thor, senior right side hitter Hanna Meyer and junior outside hitter Kate Berg. Senior defensive specialist Keena Seiffert is back for a third consecutive season as the libero.

WELCOME TO MINNESOTA DULUTH: The Bulldogs added two newcomers to the mix this season. UMD welcomes freshman outside hitter Grace Post (New Aubrun, Wis.) and freshman outside hitter Hope Schjenken (Deer River, Minn.).

BULLDOGS PICKED SECOND IN NSIC: UMD was picked to finish in a tie with Concordia University, St. Paul for second in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference according to the NSIC coaches' poll. The Bulldogs were selected behind Northern State. UMD received 203 points and four first place votes while Northern State was selected to finish at the top of the conference with 209 points and six first-place votes. Wayne State College (178 points) and Southwest Minnesota State (170 points, one first place vote) round out the top-five.

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 244 consecutive weeks. No other team has a longer active streak.
 

RANK	SCHOOL	POINTS	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1	Cal State San Bernardino (39)	1143	27-0	1
2	Nebraska-Kearney (7)	1111	33-0	2
3	Concordia-St. Paul	1005	25-7	T-8
4	Western Washington	964	26-2	6
5	Washburn	934	27-3	3
6	Minnesota Duluth	897	24-6	T-8
7	St. Cloud State	857	25-6	7
8	Northern State	822	24-5	4
9	Central Missouri	768	23-9	10
10	Hillsdale	698	26-3	11

BOOS CLUES: In his 18th year at the helm of the UMD volleyball program, Jim Boos has turn the volleyball club into a perennial national contender. Boos was hired on July 24, 2002 to become the fourth coach since 1976, succeeding Pati Rolf, and has become the longest tenured volleyball coach in the Bulldogs' 47-year history.
Boos has hand-crafted numerous players that have rewritten the record books, and have retooled the expectations set forth yearly by the program. To date, 25 individuals have accumulated AVCA All-American honors since Boos arrival. Each year under his helm, the Bulldogs have had at least one representative selected to the All-American team.
The native of Delafield, Wis. has produced a 466-88 record and has taken his club into the NCAA tournament every year expect the 2015 season -- an illuminating one despite knocking off the eventual champions Wheeling Jesuit twice in the regular season.
The Bulldogs would finish 29-3 in Boos' first go-around, romping to an 18-0 mark against Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition as Boos laid claim to the first of his nine conference championships to date. At the end of his debut season behind the Bulldog bench, Boos was recognized by his colleagues as the 2002 NSIC Coach of the Year. He'd repeat that feat in 2011 and again in 2014, when UMD went 20-0 in their tough NSIC schedule defeating 11 ranked teams on the way to a program-best winning percentage with a 33-2 overall record.
UMD earned its inaugural trip to the NCAA II Elite Eight in 2004 before losing to eventual champions Barry University. Boos was given the prestigious accolade of 2004 AVCA Coach of the Year. Two years later, Boos and the Bulldogs would return with another deep postseason run before falling to the University of Tampa, who would be crowned national champions.
Before his time at UMD, Boos served as an assistant coach at UW-Oshkosh for five years (1992-98) and assistant at North Dakota State University (1998-2001).

2018 ACCOLADES: Senior setter Emily Balts and alumna right side hitter Sarah Kelly attained AVCA All American honors, continuing the tradition of excellence of having at least one player earn All-American honors for the last 17 years. This was Kelly's second consecutive first team nod and Balts was the 25th different player in program history to be bestowed an All-American. The pair also garnered NSIC All-Tournament team distinctions. In addition, junior outside hitter Kate Berg and alumna outside hitter Makenzie Morgen nabbed All-NSIC first team selections, while senior right side hitter Hanna Meyer and senior middle blocker Abby Thor each obtained All-NSIC second team distinction. Two Bulldogs (Balts and Thor) garnered NSIC weekly awards.

UP NEXT: The regional tournament is in the format of win or go home.  If UMD wins the first match, they will take on the winner of Concordia-St. Paul and Washburn in the semi-finals. If the Bulldogs win the semi's, they will move on to the reigonal championship. If UMD wins the NCAA Central Regional Tournament, they will move on to the NCAA DII Elite Eight, which is the final eight teams that remain in the nation and will be the only teams left in the hunt for the National Title.