The No. 17 University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball Team gears up for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference split series this weekend as it travels to Minnesota Crookston Thursday for a 6 p.m. contest at Lysaker Gymnasium before returning home to host Minnesota State Moorhead Saturday at 2 p.m. at Romano Gymnasium. The Bulldogs enter the series with a 14-2 overall record and a 7-2 league record.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs split a pair of league road matches last week against No. 23 Northern State and league newcomer Jamestown. The Maroon and Gold was tripped up by the Wolves at Wachs Arena Friday night, 3-0, before bouncing back to sweep the Jimmies, 3-0, at Harold Newman Arena Saturday afternoon.
Xada Johnson paced the Bulldogs with 3.83 kills per set,
Kylie Broten averaged a team-best 1.33 blocks per set and
Madison Reed notched a 4.17 digs-per-set average over the two matches.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA CROOKSTON: The Golden Eagles host UMD with a 6-11 overall record and a 0-9 league mark following a pair of losses at University of Mary and at Minot State last weekend. Kailee Waasdorp leads her team and the NSIC in digs per set with a 5.95 average, while Madison Carsten boasts a team-leading 4.39 points-per-set average. Minnesota Crookston is 0-4 when playing at home this season and have been swept in each of the four contests.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD: The Dragons enter the weekend with an 11-6 overall record and a 5-4 league clip following road wins over University of Mary and Minot State last week. Their other two NSIC wins have come against Minnesota Crookston and Jamestown. Brielle Riess leads MSU Moorhead with a 3.48 points-per-game average and Maci Martini averages a team-high 3.27 digs per set. The Dragons are 2-2 in league road games this season. They will host Bemidji State Thursday, before making their way to Duluth Saturday.
UMD vs. MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Record: 32-0 Last: Oct. 19, 2024 Result: W, 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-20) Streak: W32
In 32 meetings all-time against the Golden Eagles, the Bulldogs have come out on top every time. In their last meeting, UMD swept Minnesota Crookston on the road behind a strong defensive effort, which included 10.0 team blocks.
Elyse Karrels led the Bulldogs with six block assists, with
Xada Johnson,
Madeline Guetzkow,
Kylie Broten and
Payton Addink each adding three total blocks. Johnson had seven kills, Guetzkow and Broten had five kills apiece.
UMD vs. MSU MOORHEAD
Record: 69-13 Last: Oct. 25, 2024 Result: W, 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-8) Streak: W9
UMD has won nine-straight matches against the Dragons heading into Saturday's home match. Last season,
Kylie Broten hit .750 with 12 kills on 16 attempts with zero errors to pace the Bulldogs offensively against MSU Moorhead.
Madeline Guetzkow hit .538 with eight kills and
Elyse Karrels hit .500 with six kills to help the Maroon and Gold notch a .407 team hitting percentage with 46 kills. The Dragons hit just .047 in the match with 21 kills.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Bulldogs are 8-0 at Romano Gym this season, which includes a 5-0 record in league home contests. When playing in front of its home crowd, UMD is averaging 14.21 kills per set to its opponents' 10.21 kills per set, with a .298 hitting percentage compared to its opponents' .143 attack percentage. The Bulldogs are also averaging 15.00 digs per set and 2.38 blocks per set when playing at home.
BULLDOGS IN THE TOP 25: UMD ranks in at No. 17 in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Poll released Monday. The Bulldogs earned 410 points this week after receiving 575 points in last week's poll when they were ranked No. 13.
ROOKIE CONTRIBUTIONS: The Bulldogs have had six true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen see action and make contributions this season, with five rookies getting at least one start during the year. Outside hitter
Mollie Rupp has seen the most action, with 10 starts in 15 sets played. She ranks sixth among the league's true freshmen in both total kills (109) and total points (118.5) and seventh in total digs (113) and digs per set (2.09).
BULLDOGS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS: UMD enters the weekend with multiple players ranked among the NCAA's best.
Kylie Broten currently ranks fifth with a .435 hitting percentage, while
Ava Jones ranks sixth in assists per set (11.44) and 14th in total assists (675).
Madeline Guetzkow sits in the top-40 in points per set with her 4.32 average, and
Paige Decker ranks 37th in hitting percentage with a .359 mark. As a team, UMD ranks seventh in hitting percentage (.280), 11th in kills per set (14.19) and 12th in assists per set (13.08).
