The No. 18 University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball Team (16-3, 9-3 NSIC) welcomes Augustana and No. 6 Wayne State to Romano Gymnasium for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) matches this weekend. The Bulldogs host the Vikings Friday night at 6 p.m., and the Wildcats Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. 

LAST TIME OUT: UMD dropped a five-set nailbiter to Bemidji State, 25-17, 17-25, 24-26, 25-20, 13-15, Tuesday night at BSU Gymnasium. Sophomore Elyse Karrels hit .750 with a career-high 18 kills on 24 attempts and matched her career-best with six total blocks. Freshman Mollie Rupp notched her fifth double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs in her hometown return. 

SCOUTING AUGUSTANA: The Vikings make the trip to Duluth with a 9-11 overall record and a 3-9 league mark, having lost seven of its last eight contests dating back to its 3-2 loss to UMD on Sept. 27 in Sioux Falls. Six of those losses have come against opponents ranked in the Top 25. Augustana's last win was a 3-2 home victory vs. Sioux Falls on Oct. 18. Maya Wente leads the team in kills per set (3.11), points per set (3.75) and blocks per set (0.97), while Gabby Jones is the team-leader in digs with a 2.57 digs-per-set average. 

UMD vs. AUGUSTANA
Record: 38-13    Last: 9.27.25    Result: W, 3-2 (25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 20-25, 15-13)    Streak: W2
Earlier this season, the Bulldogs edged out Augustana in a five-set thriller on the road at the Elmen Center. Ava Jone secured her 1,000th career assist in the win, while tallying a double-double with 54 assists and a career-high 18 digs. Madeline Guetzow had a career-high 25 kills and Kylie Broten and Mollie Rupp added 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Guetzkow has 36 kills all-time vs. the Vikings in two matches, while Broten has 21 kills and 11 total blocks and Paige Decker has 23 kills and three total blocks in three career matches against Augustana. 

SCOUTING No. 6 WAYNE STATE: The Wildcats enter the weekend with an 18-3 record on the season and a league-leading 11-1 NSIC record. They are ranked No. 6 in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Poll having won five-straight matches and 13 of their last 14, including four wins over ranked opponents. The Wildcats' only NSIC loss was at No. 11 Concordia-St. Paul, 3-0, on Oct. 4. Channatee Robles was named the AVCA Division II National Player of the Week Oct. 21 after averaging 6.00 kills and 6.21 points per set with a .351 hitting percentage vs. Sioux Falls and No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State. She leads the Wildcats in total kills (254) and total points (298.0), while Chloe Hanel paces the squad in points per set (2.89) and blocks per set (1.05).

UMD vs. WAYNE STATE
Record: 31-15    Last: 9.26.25    Result: L, 2-3 (25-23, 27-25, 19-25, 25-27, 11-15)    Streak: L7
In the teams' first meeting this season, the Bulldogs were edged out by the Wildcats in a tightly-contested five-set match at Rice Auditorium. Madeline Guetzkow led five Bulldogs in double-figure kills with 22 kills and added a career-high 21 digs. Mollie Rupp had career-highs with 16 kills and 19 digs in the loss. Guetzkow has 34 kills and 27 digs all-time in four matches against Wayne State. Broten has 25 kills and four total blocks in two matches and Paige Decker has 23 kills and three blocks in three matches all-time versus the Wildcats. The last time UMD beat WSC was Oct. 18, 2019 (3-2). 

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. 

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. 

SISTER SHOWDOWN: UMD freshman Brietta Tims will face her sister, Viking senior Sydney Tims, in Friday's contest against Augustana. Brietta is averaging 1.52 kills and 1.30 digs per set with 13 service aces and six total blocks, while Sydney is averaging 1.54 kills and 0.80 digs per set with 49 total blocks and 31 service aces. 

RETURN TO ACTION: After missing multiple matches due to injury, juniors Paige Decker and Madeline Guetzkow returned to action in Tuesday's road match at Bemidji State. Guetzkow had nine kills and four block assists in four sets of work, and Decker hit .500 with four kills and a block assist in two sets of action.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DIGS: Junior libero Madison Reed has tallied 10 or more digs in 16 of UMD's 19 matches this season, including in four-straight and 14 of the Bulldogs' last 15 matches. She ranks fifth in the NSIC and 54th in NCAA Division II with a 4.61 digs-per-set average. Her career-high 33 digs at Wayne State on Sept. 26 is tied for 29th in the NCAA Division II and the third-highest total in the NSIC for a five-set match this season.    

COUNTDOWN TO 500 KILLS: Madeline Guetzkow is 61 kills away from reaching 500 career kills. The junior is averaging 3.38 kills per set this season and has totaled 196 kills in 16 matches. 

DIGGIN IT: UMD totaled 107 digs in its contest at No. 14 Wayne State on Sept. 26, its most in a single match since Oct. 28, 2006 when it tallied 108 digs vs. Augustana. The total also ties for the ninteenth most in a five-set match in NCAA Division II this season. 

BOOS IN NCAA DII TOP-FOUR: UMD head coach Jim Boos ranks fourth among active NCAA Division II volleyball coaches and 12th among all active NCAA volleyball coaches with an .811 winning percentage. His 585 wins rank 12th among active DII coaches. He ranks 51st among all active NCAA volleyball coaches in career wins.