THE OPENING SERVE:

The UMD Bulldogs host a pair of Top 25 teams as they will host the No. 20 Michigan Tech Huskies  on Tuesday October 26th at 6:00 PM. They will then host the No. 14 St. Cloud State Huskies on Thursday at 6:00 PM.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MICHIGAN TECH:

This will be the second time the Bulldogs will face off against Michigan Tech. The first matchup came on September 2nd at the Michigan Tech tournament. This would be each teams first match of the season. The Huskies would defeat the Bulldogs 3-0 in this match.

The Huskies are led by Anna Jonynas who is averaging 3.97 kills per set. They are also led by Laura De Marchi who is averaging 11.34 assists per set. Head Coach Matt Jennings is in his 10th season with the program.

SCOUTING REPORT ON ST. CLOUD STATE:

St. Cloud State comes into the matchup with an impressive 12-1 NSIC record with their only loss coming to Concordia St. Paul. The Huskies also come into the matchup with a 7 match win streak.

St. Cloud State is led by Kenzie Foley who leads the team with 3.84 kills per set. They are also led by three-time NSIC player of the week Maddy Torve who is leading the team with 11.55 assists per set. Head Coach Chad Braegelmann is in his sixth season with the program and is the reigning NSIC Coach of the Year.

THE SERIES:

UMD currently holds a 30-9 record over Michigan Tech. Their most recent matchup occurred on September 2nd as Michigan Tech won 3-0.

The Bulldogs come into the matchup with St. Cloud State with a 75-35 record. Their last matchup occurred on October 31, 2019 as the Huskies beat the Bulldogs 3-1.

LEADING THE PACK:

Minnesota Duluth Sophomore Outside Hitter Cianna Selbitschka is currently second in the conference in total kills (329) and third in the conference in kills per set (4.16). Selbitschka is also tied for first in the conference in total service aces (32) and  is fourth in average service aces per set (0.41). Selbitschka also ranks in the top 20 in the conference in digs ranking 12th in the conference in total digs (249) and 15th in digs per set (3.15)

Sophomore Grace Daak currently leads the NSIC with 97 total blocks and is second with 1.23 blocks per set.

Senior Sydney Lanoue is currently third in the conference in total digs (383) and third in digs per set (4.85). Lanoue is also ninth in total service aces (27).

Redshirt Junior Madison Gordon currently has the sixth most assists (783) and seventh in assists per set (9.91).

NSIC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Senior defensive specialist/libero Sydney Lanoue was named as this weeks Defensive Player of the Week. Lanoue would post 35 digs in their three-set sweep of MSU Moorhead. Those 35 digs would be good enough for a UMD record for  most digs in a three-set match. This would also tie a season high for digs in a three set match throughout Division II volleyball. Overall, Lanoue would average an impressive 7.0 digs per set over the weekend.

THE BROADCAST:

You can find a live stream for both games here:
https://nsicnetwork.com/umdbulldogs/
 

You can find the live stats for both matches here:
https://umdbulldogs.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary

UP NEXT:

The Bulldogs will travel to face off against Bemidji State on October 30th at 4:00 PM before continuing on the road to face off agasint Minnesota Crookston on November 2nd at 6:00 PM.