The No. 14 University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball team returns to Romano Gymnasium this weekend to host Minnesota State and No. 16 St. Cloud State for Homecoming Weekend. The Bulldogs welcome the Mavericks to Duluth Friday night at 6 p.m., before closing out the weekend against the Huskies Saturday at 4 p.m. 

LAST TIME OUT: UMD extended its winning streak to 12 matches with a five-set upset at No. 5 Concordia St. Paul and a sweep of Winona State on the road last weekend. The Bulldogs averaged 2.88 service aces per set over the weekend and 15.38 digs per set. 

SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE: The Mavericks make their way to Duluth with a 6-11 overall record and a 4-5 NSIC record, having won two-straight and three of their last four matches. Minnesota State ranks fourth in the league with 1.87 service aces per set, with Jadyn Lester leading the league with a 0.55 aces per set average. Lester also paces the Mavericks with 8.95 assists per set. Addison Foor leads a foursome of hitters averaging over 2.00 kills per set with 2.30 kills per set. Avery Klein follows with 2.22 kills per set, then Lily Riese with 2.19 and Olivia Sturgis with 2.02. 

UMD VS. MINNESOTA STATE
Series Record: 54-21
Last Meeting: Nov. 8, 2025 | UMD lost 3-0 (16-25, 21-25, 23-25)
Streak: UMD, L1
Brietta Tims hit .423 with 14 kills and five digs to pace the Bulldogs in their last meeting against the Mavericks, which was a three-set loss on the road. Paige Decker had eight kills and three block assists, and Ava Jones contributed a double-double with 33 assists and 11 digs. 

SCOUTING ST. CLOUD STATE: The Huskies enter the weekend ranked No. 16 in this week's AVCA-Taraflex Coaches Poll with a 12-5 overall record and a 6-3 NSIC record. In the Week One poll on Aug. 31, SCSU was the No. 1 ranked team in the nation after going 4-0 in the UP North Tournament. It ranks third in the NSIC in points per set with 17.47, led by Shelby Kimm's 207.5 total points and her team-best 3.34 kills per set. Setter Braya LaPlant ranks third in the NSIC and sixth nationally with 10.95 assists per set and Laurin Hamann is averaging 4.52 digs per set. The Huskies have won three-straight matches and five of their last six heading into the weekend. 

UMD VS. ST. CLOUD STATE
Series Record: 77-39
Last Meeting: Nov. 7, 2025 | UMD lost 3-0 (23-25, 9-25, 18-25)
Streak: UMD, L3
Ella Chandler had a team-high nine kills and tallied seven digs despite the Bulldogs falling to the Huskies in three sets on the road last season in the teams' only meeting. Madeline Guetzkow added seven kills and a team-best 13 digs. Ava Jones tallied 23 assists and six digs. The last time UMD defeated SCSU was Oct. 12, 2023 and the last time it defeated the Huskies at home was Oct. 25, 2022. 

IN THE POLLS: The Bulldogs jumped five spots from last week to No. 14 in the Oct. 5 AVCA-Taraflex Division II Women's Volleyball Poll, marking the biggest move of the week. It is the highest ranking for the Maroon and Gold since Oct. 6, 2025 when it ranked No. 13 in the poll. UMD is one of five NSIC teams ranked in the top-25, including No. 2 Wayne State, No. 8 Concordia-St. Paul, No. 12 Southwest Minnesota State and No. 16 St. Cloud State. 

NCAA LEADERS: The Bulldogs are the NCAA Division II leaders in kills per set with 14.67 kills per set. They are averaging 14.59 kills per set in NSIC matches this season and 14.79 kills per set during their 12-match winning streak. Madeline Guetzkow paces UMD with a 3.75 kills per set average, followed by Paige Decker with 3.18 kills per set and Kenzie Kiminski with 3.06 kills per set. Decker ranks second nationally with her .461 hitting percentage and Ava Jones ranks second nationally with her 11.44 assists per set. 

DOUBLE-DIGIT ACES: The Bulldogs had 13 service aces in their win over No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul on the road Oct. 2, its most in a single match since Sept. 2, 2005 vs. Hillsdale College. They followed that performance with 10 more service aces Oct. 3 at Winona State. In the two-match span, Madeline Guetzkow and Madison Reed each tallied six aces, while Kenzie Kiminski added three aces.  

NSIC LEADER: UMD leads the NSIC in points (18.68), kills (14.67), service aces (2.11), opponent hitting percentage (.155), opponent assists (9.46), opponent kills (10.09) and opponent digs (11.98) heading into its Homecoming Weekend. It also ranks second in the league in hitting percentage (.291). 

EFFICIENT HITTERS: The Bulldogs have three players that rank in the top five in the NSIC in hitting percentage, including the league-leader in Paige Decker with a .461 hitting percentage and second in the conference in Madeline Guetzkow with a .380 hitting percentage. Elyse Karrels ranks fifth with a .369 hitting percentage. In league-only matches, Decker and Guetzkow rank 1-2 in hitting percentage with .516 and .440 marks, respectively. Karrels also appears in the top-15 in conference-only matches with a .326 hitting percentage to rank 13th. 

ACES WILD: Sophomore Brietta Tims ranks second in the league and ranks 47th nationally with 0.51 aces per set and is tied for 12th with 23 total service aces. She has recorded at least one ace in 13 of the 15 matches in which she's appeared, including a career-high five in the Bulldogs' win at Northern Michigan.  

SINGLE-MATCH TOP-25: The Bulldogs have put up some big numbers this season, including some single-match highs that rank among the top in the NCAA. Paige Decker's .789 hitting percentage at MSU Moorhead ranks sixth and her .667 at Winona State ties for No. 29 on 15-19 attempts, while her .692 hitting percentage and 19 kills vs. Cal State East Bay ranks No. 9 for min. 20 attempts and tie for No. 18 in a three-set match, respectively. 

Madeline Guetzkow's .667 hitting percentage vs. Minnesota Crookston is tied for 12th and her .652 hitting percentage vs. Bemidji State is tied for 20th for a min. 20 attempts. Guetzkow's .667 hitting percentage vs. Minot State is tied for No. 29 on 15-19 attempts. Ava Jones's 42 assists vs. Tiffin are tied for No. 17 and her 41 at MSU Moorhead are tied for No. 30 for a three-set match.