The No. 23 University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball team will face No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Postseason Volleyball Tournament Quarterfinals Tuesday, Nov. 10. The opening-round contest is set to get underway at 6 p.m. from the PE Gym in Marshall, Minn.

MATCH INFORMATION:
NSIC Volleyball Tournament Quarterfinals
#6 seed UMD at #3 seed Southwest Minnesota State
PE Gym - Marshall, Minn.
6:00 p.m. 
Live Stream: https://www.midcosportsplus.com/
Live Stats: https://smsumustangs.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Tickets: Adults: $15 || Students: $5 || Age 5 & under: Free
NSIC Tournament Website: https://northernsun.org/tournaments/?id=143&path=wvball

MAKING THE TOURNAMENT: UMD wrapped regular-season NSIC play with sweeps of Minot State and UMary at Romano Gymnasium last weekend to post a 14-6 league mark to earn the No. 6 seed for the NSIC Tournament. The Bulldogs and St. Cloud State each finished with a 14-6 record, but the Huskies earned the fifth seed over UMD via point rating system. 

SCOUTING SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE: The Mustangs earned the No. 3 seed in the NSIC Tournament with a 15-5 league record and are ranked No. 15 in the AVCA-Taraflex Division II Coaches Poll this week with a 21-6 overall mark. They lead the NSIC and rank second in NCAA Division II in kills with 14.61 per set, led by senior outside hitter Leah Jone's 3.29 kills per set. Jones was one of two Mustangs named to the All-NSIC First Team, along with sophomore libero Ashlynn Schroeder, who also garnered NSIC Libero of the Year honors. Ashley Peltier, Natalie Pilney and former Bulldog Mollie Rupp were named to the second team. SMSU has lost two of its last three matches, but has won four of its last six. 

UMD VS. SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
Series Record: 71-24
Last Meeting: Oct. 23, 2026 | UMD won 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-21)
Streak: UMD, W1
Paige Decker had 14 kills and six blocks to pace the Bulldogs to a sweep of the then-No. 10 Mustangs in the teams' lone meeting this season on Oct. 23 at Romano Gymnasium. She led a foursome of Bulldogs with double-digit kills in the contest, with Xada Johnson posting 12 kills, Kenzie Kiminski contributing a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs and Madeline Guetzkow adding 10 kills and seven digs. UMD snapped SMSU's six-match winning streak and held the NCAA kills and assists leaders to 38 kills on .145 hitting and 35 assists. The Maroon and Gold totaled 53 kills on .286 hitting, while adding 48 assists, 58 digs and 8.5 total team blocks.

LOOKING AHEAD:  A win at Southwest Minnesota State would send UMD to the semifinal round of the NSIC Tournament, hosted by the highest-remaining seed following Tuesday's matches. The semifinals/championship matches will take place on two-consecutive days between Friday-Sunday with the dates determined by the host institution. Match times will be determined by the host institution in consultation with the conference office. The winner of the conference tournament is the NSIC Volleyball Tournament Champion and is the recipient of the automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.

UMD IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT: The Bulldogs are 15-8 all-time in the NSIC Tournament and have claimed the tournament title three times - in 2013, 2014 and 2018. They are 3-1 in the league tournament when facing the the Mustangs, with their wins coming in 2014, 2018 and 2023. Their lone loss to SMSU came in the 2012 semifinals. The Bulldogs last appeared in the NSIC Tournament in 2025, where they faced Concordia-St. Paul on the road. UMD fell to the Golden Bears, 1-3, in the Quarterfinals at the Gangelhoff Center. 

IN THE POLLS: The Bulldogs remained at No. 23 in the Nov. 9 AVCA-Taraflex Division II Women's Volleyball Poll. UMD is one of six NSIC teams ranked or receiving votes in the top-25, including No. 2 Wayne State, No. 10 Concordia-St. Paul, No. 14 St. Cloud State, No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State, and RV Northern State. 

TOPS IN KILLS GO HEAD-TO-HEAD: SMSU and UMD rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the NSIC and No. 2 and No. 5 in NCAA Division II, respectively, in kills per set heading into Tuesday's contest. The Bulldogs are averaging 14.31 kills per set, while the Mustangs boast a 14.61 kills per set average. UMD has totaled 40 or more kills in all but two matches this season, and have tallied 60+ on three occasions. Madeline Guetzkow paces UMD with a 3.46 kills per set average, followed by Paige Decker with 3.15 kills per set and Kenzie Kiminski with 3.01 kills per set.