The No. 24 University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball Team hosts the University of Sioux Falls Friday at 6 p.m. and No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State University Saturday at 2 p.m. at Romano Gymnasium to kick off Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) action. Both matches will be broadcast live on My9 Sports.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs posted a 3-0 record at the UP North Preseason Tournament with wins over Michigan Tech, Adelphi and Northern Michigan on their home court. UMD defeated the Huskies 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 15-9), before notching back-to-back sweeps over the Panthers (25-15, 25-13, 25-12) and the Wildcats (25-22, 25-22, 25-23).
SCOUTING UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS: The Cougars are coming off a 2-2 outing at the Rosella Meier UNK Fall Classic where they swept South Dakota Mines and Adams State, but fell to No. 8 Nebraska Kearney and Missouri-St. Louis. They were picked to finish sixth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. USF returns multiple starters from last season and features a roster rich with upperclassmen leadership. USF also welcomes five freshmen eager to contribute at the collegiate level.
SCOUTING No. 6 SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY: The Mustangs rank No. 6 in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Poll released Sept. 15. They improved three spots from last week after going 3-0 in the Pitt State Classic with wins over Southern Nazarene, Maryville and Pittsburg State. SMSU was picked to finish third in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. SMSU returns 12 letter winners from its 2024 team that finished with a 23-6 overall record and made the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in program history. The 2025 team features three seniors, four juniors, five sophomores, a redshirt freshman, and six true freshmen.
UMD vs. USF
Record: 18-3
Last: Oct. 5, 2024
Result: 1-3 (25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 23-25)
Streak: L1
Ava Jones had a double-double with 24 assists and 12 digs in UMD's last meeting with the Cougars in 2024.
Madeline Guetzkow added 10 kills and
Kylie Broten had four kills and six total blocks.
UMD vs. SMSU
Record: 69-23
Last: Oct. 4, 2024
Result: 1-3 (25-18, 21-25, 20-25, 24-26)
Streak: L1
Junior
Paige Decker has had the most experience against the Mustangs, as she has totaled 13 kills in three matches against the visitors dating back to 2023. In the teams' last meeting in 2024,
Kylie Broten hit .474 with 10 kills and two block assists, while
Ava Jones had 37 assists.
Madeline Guetzkow had five kills and two digs.
BULLDOGS IN THE TOP 25: With seven-straight wins to open the 2025 campaign, UMD secured a spot in the NCAA Top-25 in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Poll released Monday. The Bulldogs rank No. 24 with 151 points after receiving 55 points in last week's poll.
UNDEFEATED: UMD is one of only 22 teams in Division II that remains undefeated through two weeks of play, four of which reside in the NSIC (UMD, SMSU, Minnesota State, Northern State).
ON A ROLL: UMD enters NSIC play having won eight-straight sets. It swept Northern Michigan and Adelphi and won the last two sets against Michigan Tech. The last time the Bulldogs won eight-straight sets was from Oct. 19-26, 2024, when they won 10-straight in league play. They recorded sweeps vs. Minnesota Crookston, Bemidji State and MSU Moorhead and opened their match vs. Northern State with a first-set victory.
IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: UMD has three players in the top-10 nationally this week, including two in hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker
Kylie Broten ranks second in NCAA Division II with a .500 hitting percentage and junior middle blocker
Paige Decker ranks seventh with a .449 attack percentage.
Ava Jones ranks fourth nationally in assists per set at 11.8, while also sitting at No. 15 in total assists with 295.
NCAA Division II Rankings
Individual
NCAA Division II Rankings
Team
| Category |
Rank |
Value |
| Hitting Percentage |
8th |
.294 |
| Assists Per Set |
12th |
13.16 |
| Kills Per Set |
17th |
13.96 |
UP NORTH ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Senior
Kylie Broten and junior
Madeline Guetzkow each earned spots on the Up North All-Tournament Team last week. Broten hit .410 with a team-best 32 kills and added a team-high 15 total blocks, and Guetzkow had 29 kills, 29 digs, 13 total blocks and four service aces in helping the Bulldogs go 3-0 during the event.
COUNTDOWN TO 1,000 ASSISTS: Ava Jones is creeping up on 1,000 career assists early in her sophomore campaign. With 794 heading into the weekend, the setter needs just 206 more assists to reach the milestone.
AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS: The Bulldogs are tied with Minnesota State as the league's leader in points-per-set with an 18.76 average. They also rank second in hitting percentage (.294), blocks per set (2.44), service aces per set (2.36) and opponent hitting percentage (.144).
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 .812 winning percentage. His 576 wins rank 12th among active DII coaches, just 10 wins behind Melissa Wolter's No. 11 mark of 586 at West Florida. Spring Hill's Peggy Martin ranks first with 1,491 wins.
