The No. 18 University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball Team travels to Bemidji State for a midweek Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchup Tuesday, Oct. 21. The match is set to get underway at 6 p.m. at BSU Gymnasium. 

LAST TIME OUT: UMD won two matches against Minnesota Crookston and MSU Moorhead last week. It opened the week with a 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 15-11) win on the road against the Golden Eagles Thursday night, where freshmen Mollie Rupp and Ella Chandler led the Bulldogs with 14 kills apiece. They followed with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-11) sweep of MSU Moorhead Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Elyse Karrels had career-highs with 12 kills and six block assists in the win. 

SCOUTING BEMIDJI STATE: The Beavers split their pair of contests against MSU Moorhead and Minnesota Crookston last week. They fell to the Dragons, 3-1 (21-25, 13-25, 25-23, 22-25) Thursday night in Moorhead, before bouncing back to defeat the Golden Eagles 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-20) Saturday afternoon at home. Its win over Minnesota Crookston was just the third in NSIC play this season for BSU, its other wins coming vs. UMary and Minot State, both at home. Lily Riese leads the Beavers with 3.56 kills per set, Kylie Struble averages a team-best 3.46 digs per set and Karley Dunham averages 0.84 blocks per set to pace BSU. 

UMD vs. BEMIDJI STATE
Record: 101-3    Last: Sept. 23, 2025    Result: W, 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-17)    Streak: W14
The Bulldogs have won 14-straight contests vs. the Beavers, which includes a 3-0 sweep at home earlier this season. In that match, UMD hit .452 with only four attack errors, its best offensive outing since Sept. 15, 2023 when it hit .488 at Mary. UMD's four attack errors, all of which came in the first set, are its fewest in a match since Oct. 18, 2016 when it had just four attack errors in a home sweep of St. Cloud State. 

BULLDOGS IN THE TOP 25: UMD ranks in at No. 18 in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Poll released Monday. The Bulldogs earned 403 points this week after receiving 410 points in last week's poll when they were ranked No. 17. 

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 12 starts in 17 matches played. She ranks sixth among the league's true freshmen in both total kills (130) and total points (141.5).

DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Madeline Guetzkow has a team-leading six double-doubles on the season, including three in league play. Mollie Rupp has four double-doubles, her last coming against the Minnesota Crookston with 14 kills and 19 digs. Ava Jones has three double-doubles, most recently in the team's win vs. the Golden Eagles with 50 assists and 17 digs. Xada Johnson has totaled two double-doubles and Brietta Tims has one double-double.  

DOUBLE-DIGIT DIGS: Junior libero Madison Reed has tallied 10 or more digs in 15 of UMD's 18 matches this season, including in three-straight and 13 of the Bulldogs' last 14 matches. She ranks fifth in the NSIC and 54 in NCAA Division II with a 4.66 digs-per-set average. Her career-high 33 digs at Wayne State on Sept. 26 is tied for 22nd in the NCAA Division II and the second-highest total in the NSIC for a five-set match this season.  

40 OR MORE ASSISTS: Sophomore Ava Jones has dished out 40 or more assists 12 times this season and 50 or more assists six times. She tallied a career-best 64 assists at Wayne State on Sept. 26, a mark that is tied for fifth in NCAA Division II in a five-set match this season. 

BLOCK PARTY: Sophomore Elyse Karrels averaged 1.29 blocks per set in UMD's two wins last week over Minnesota Crookston and MSU Moorhead. She had two block solos and a block assist on the road against the Golden Eagles, before matching her career-high with six block assists at home against the Dragons. Karrels also hit .647 with a career-best 12 kills in the home sweep. 

COUNTDOWN TO 500 KILLS: Madeline Guetzkow is 70 kills away from reaching 500 career kills. The junior is averaging 3.46 kills per set this season and has totaled 187 kills in 15 matches.