THE OPENING SERVE:
The No. 19 UMD Bulldogs will travel on the road to face the Sioux Falls Cougars and the No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs. The Bulldogs will look to bounce back after starting conference play 1-2. The Bulldogs will have their second top 25 matchup of the season when they travel to face the Mustangs.
SCOUTING REPORT ON SIOUX FALLS:
The Sioux Falls Cougars come into this matchup having started the NSIC season 2-1. The Cougars defeated Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State on the road before falling to #8 Wayne State on the road. The Cougars will host the Bulldogs on September 24th, which will be their 2021 home opener.
Sioux Falls is led by Senior Setter Krista Goerger who was the NSIC Setter of the Week this past week. Goerger is the Cougars leader in All-Time assists and is averaging 9.38 assists per set. The Cougars are led by Head Coach Dan Mathews who is in his first year at Sioux Falls.
SCOUTING REPORT ON SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE:
The Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs come into this matchup with a perfect 11-0 record. The Mustangs defeated Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston on the road before hosting Augustana and defeating them 3-0. SMSU will host #20 St. Cloud State on September 24th before hosting the Bulldogs. When teams face off, it will be each teams second top 25 matchup of the season (UMD vs WSC, SMSU vs St. Cloud).
The Mustangs are led by senior Angela Young who is averaging 4.33 kills per set. SMSU is led by Head Coach Terry Culhane, who is in his 18th season with the Mustangs. Culhane is the programs all-time leader in victories.
THE SERIES:
UMD has amassed a 12-2 record against the Sioux Falls Cougars. Teams last faced off during the 2019 season on October 25th when the Bulldogs won 3-0.
The Bulldogs have an impressive 67-18 record against the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs. Teams last faced off during the 2019 season on October 26th when the Bulldogs won in 5 sets, 3-2.
WELL SERVED:
The Bulldogs, Cougars and Mustangs come into the weekend as the top three teams in the NSIC in service aces. SMSU is averaging 2.22 service aces per set, USF is averaging 2.15 service aces per set, and UMD is averaging 1.8 service aces per set. The Bulldogs are currently leading the NSIC in the least amount of opponent service aces with 0.90 per set, while SMSU is third with 1.11 per set.
LEADING THE PACK:
Minnesota Duluth Sophomore Outside Hitter Cianna Selbitschka is currently leading the NSIC is total kills (176) and kills per set (4.40). Selbitschka also currently ranks first in total service aces (21) and second in service aces per set (0.53). She also leads the NSIC in total points (206) and points per set (5.15).
Bulldogs Sophomore Grace Daak currently leads the NSIC with 50 total blocks and is second with 1.25 blocks per set.
Senior Sydney Lanoue is currently fifth in the conference in total digs (186) and fifth in digs per set (4.65).
THE BROADCAST:
You can find a live stream of the Sioux Falls match here: https://www.nsicnetwork.com/usfcougars/
Live stream of the SMSU match: https://nsicnetwork.com/smsumustangs/?B=301337
Anyone interested in live stats, you will be able to find the live stats for the Sioux Falls match here: https://usfcougars.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
SMSU match live stats here: https://smsumustangs.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
UP NEXT:
The Bulldogs will continue conference play as they will host Minnesota State University - Mankato on October 1st at 6:00 PM. They will also face #6 Concordia St. Paul on October 2nd at 2:00 PM.
