The No. 21 University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball Team (17-4, 10-4 NSIC) begins a four-match Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road swing this weekend when it takes on No. 18 Southwest Minnesota State at PE Gym Friday night at 6 p.m. and Sioux Falls at the Stewart Center Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.   

LAST TIME OUT: UMD split its home series last weekend at Romano Gymnasium. The Bulldogs defeated visiting Augustana in straight sets, 25-13, 25-23, 25-21, to sweep the season series vs. the Vikings on Friday night, but fell to No. 6 Wayne State in three sets Saturday afternoon, 21-25, 20-25, 19-25. Paige Decker and Kylie Broten each had 21 kills and five blocks for the Maroon and Gold in the pair of contests. 

SCOUTING SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE: The Mustangs host UMD Friday ranked No. 18 in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Poll, having swept Minnesota Crookston and MSU Moorhead in their last two matches. SMSU has won five of its last seven matches, with its only losses coming to Wayne State and Sioux Falls during the stretch. Leah Jones paces the Mustangs offensively with 3.74 kills per set and Sydney Thein ranks second in the NSIC with an 11.59 assists-per-set average. McKenzie Tolk is averaging a team-best 4.64 digs per set and Natalie Pilney is averaging 1.0 blocks per set to anchor the defense. 

UMD vs. SMSU
Record: 70-23    Last: 9.20.25    Result: W, 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-16)    Streak: W1
Earlier this season, the Bulldogs upset the No. 6-ranked Mustangs, 3-1, behind a career performance from Xada Johnson in front of the home crowd at Romano Gymnasium. Johnson had a double-double with career-highs of 13 kills and 18 digs. Madeline Guetzkow had 18 kills and six digs and Paige Decker added 11 kills and six total blocks. UMD has won in two of the teams' last three meetings. 

SCOUTING SIOUX FALLS: The Cougars enter the weekend having won three-straight matches, which includes a four-set victory on the road at then-No. 17 Southwest Minnesota State, and sweeps vs. MSU Moorhead and Minnesota Crookston. They will host Bemidji State Friday night before facing the Bulldogs. Sadie Voss is averaging a team-high 3.25 kills per set for USF, and Ella Walker and Haley Wolfe are each averaging 0.91 blocks per set for the Cougar defense. 

UMD vs. USF
Record: 19-3    Last: 9.19.25    Result: W, 3-2 (23-25, 15-25, 28-26, 25-16, 15-13)    Streak: W1
Back in September, the Bulldogs rallied to reverse sweep the Cougars, 3-2, at Romano Gymnasium. It was their first reverse-sweep victory since 2022. Kylie Broten and Madeline Guetzkow combined for 41 kills, while Ava Jones dished out 52 assists in the win. 

BULLDOGS IN THE TOP 25: UMD ranks in at No. 21 in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Poll released Monday. The Bulldogs earned 257 points this week after receiving 403 points in last week's poll when they were ranked No. 18. 

DOUBLE-DIGIT DIGS: Junior libero Madison Reed has tallied 10 or more digs in 18 of UMD's 21 matches this season, including in six-straight and 16 of the Bulldogs' last 17 matches. She ranks fourth in the NSIC and 55th in NCAA Division II with a 4.71 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 44 kills away from reaching 500 career kills. The junior is averaging 3.33 kills per set this season and has totaled 213 kills in 18 matches. She is also just two kills away from matching her season total of 215 kills from the 2024 season.  

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 586 wins rank 12th among active DII coaches. He ranks 51st among all active NCAA volleyball coaches in career wins. 

BULLDOGS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS: UMD enters the weekend with multiple players ranked among the NCAA's best. Kylie Broten currently ranks eighth with a .418 hitting percentage, while Ava Jones ranks sixth in assists per set (11.41) and ninth in total assists (890). As a team, UMD ranks 10th in hitting percentage (.275) and 15th in kills per set (14.12) and assists per set (13.14). 

AGAINST THE TOP 25: UMD is 1-3 when facing teams ranked in the Top 25 this season, however, it has averaged more kills per set (14.60 to 13.53), more assists per set (13.87 to 11.93) and more digs per set (16.80 to 15.07) than those opponents. Madeline Guetzkow averages a team-best 3.62 kills per set and Madison Reed averages 5.53 digs per set against ranked opponents. 

ON THE ROAD: In NSIC road matches this season, the Bulldogs are averaging 13.33 kills per set. Madeline Guetzkow paces the offense in those matches with a 3.80 kills-per-set average, while Molly Rupp leads the team with 59 total kills (2.81 kills per set). UMD is also averaging 16.48 digs per set in league road contests, with Madison Reed leading the way with 4.62 digs per set.