The University of Minnesota Duluth (7-1, 0-0 NSIC) volleyball team concludes its 10-match road swing this weekend when it opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play in North Dakota. The Bulldogs visit the University of Mary Friday at 6 p.m., before traveling to Minot State Saturday for a 2 p.m. match. Both matches will be streamed on Midco Sports Plus.

LAST TIME OUT: UMD went 3-1 at the Royce Cappis Invitational in Pueblo, Colo., closing the weekend with three straight sweeps of CSU Pueblo, Adelphi and Florida Tech. The Bulldogs suffered their only loss of the season in the tournament opener, falling 3-1 to Fort Lewis.

SCOUTING UMARY: The Marauders enter NSIC play on a five-match losing streak and have dropped 13 consecutive sets. UMary is 2-6 overall after going 0-4 against Augustana, Emporia State, Black Hills State and Chadron State at the Sioux Falls Tournament last weekend. Judith Burke leads the Marauders with 2.93 kills per set, while Holli Klettheimer owns a team-best 22.0 total blocks. Klettheimer also ranks second on the team with a .344 hitting percentage and averages 2.13 kills per set. UMary returns nine players from its 2025 squad and added seven freshmen and one transfer for the 2026 season.

UMD VS. UMARY
Series Record: 23-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 3, 2025 | UMD won 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-21)
Streak: UMD, W23
Ava Jones dished out 42 assists and added six digs as UMD moved to 23-0 all-time against the Marauders in the teams' only meeting last season. Madeline Guetzkow contributed eight kills and seven digs, while Grace Mueller recorded six kills in her collegiate debut. Madison Reed led all players with 19 digs.

SCOUTING MINOT STATE: The Beavers are led by first-year head coach Josh Wastvedt and enter the weekend 3-5 after going 2-2 at the Cameron Invitational last weekend in Oklahoma. Minot State defeated host Cameron and Northeastern State, both in five sets. Caton Pearcy and Katelyn Onespot-Danforth lead the Beavers offensively with 2.41 and 2.15 kills per set, respectively. Both are among Minot State's nine returning players from 2025. The Beavers also added six freshmen this season.

UMD VS. MINOT STATE
Series Record: 17-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 4, 2025 | UMD won 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-14)
Streak: UMD, W17
Madeline Guetzkow had seven kills, five block assists and seven digs to lead the Bulldogs to a sweep of the Beavers in the teams' only meeting last season. Grace Mueller added seven block assists, while Madison Reed had 13 digs and six service aces.

COUNTDOWN TO 2K: Ava Jones enters Friday's NSIC opener at UMary with 1,977 career assists, just 23 assists shy of 2,000 for her career. She is averaging 11.21 assists per set in 2026, which ranks fifth in NCAA Division II and second in the NSIC. Her 314 total assists rank 16th nationally. Jones needs 43 more career assists to move past Shelia Brown for 11th place on UMD's all-time assists list. She would need 1,463 more assists to overtake Madison Gordon for 10th.

ROYCE CAPPIS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Junior Ava Jones and senior Paige Decker were named to the Royce Cappis Invitational All-Tournament Team after helping UMD to a 3-1 record. Jones averaged 10.92 assists per set and recorded her first double-double of the season with 38 assists and 14 digs against Fort Lewis. Decker hit .385 while averaging 3.08 kills and 3.45 points per set. She also led the Bulldogs with 11.0 total blocks.

IN THE POLLS: UMD received 54 votes in the Sept. 7 AVCA-Taraflex Division II Women's Volleyball Poll, up from 47 votes in the Aug. 31 poll. The Bulldogs last appeared in the Top 25 on Nov. 3, 2025, when they were ranked No. 25.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Through eight matches, UMD has recorded eight double-doubles. Madeline Guetzkow has four, Brietta Tims has two, and Kenzie Kiminski recorded one in her collegiate debut.

CLOSING IN ON WIN 600: Head coach Jim Boos is in his 25th season at the helm of the UMD volleyball program and owns a 594-144 career record. He is six victories away from career win No. 600, which would make him just the 11th active NCAA Division II women's volleyball head coach to reach the milestone. Boos' .805 career winning percentage ranks fifth among active Division II head coaches.

ACES WILD: Sophomore Brietta Tims is tied with Wayne State's Mattie Kamery for the NSIC lead with 17 service aces. Tims ranks second in the league in aces per set at 0.61. She has recorded at least one ace in all eight of UMD's matches, including a career-high five in the Bulldogs' win at Northern Michigan. Tims ranks 20th nationally in total aces and 59th in aces per set.

DEFENSE WINS MATCHES: UMD's defense has been particularly effective over its last three matches at the Royce Cappis Invitational. The Bulldogs held opponents to a .090 hitting percentage and 7.78 kills per set during that stretch. UMD held Adelphi and Florida Tech below a .100 hitting percentage, limiting the two teams to .064 and .080, respectively.

KARRELS COMING UP: Junior middle blocker Elyse Karrels had a strong weekend at the Royce Cappis Invitational, hitting .489 with 27 kills and nine total blocks. She currently ranks fourth in the NSIC with a .426 hitting percentage on the season.