The No. 23 University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball team picked up a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) weekly awards Monday, with junior Ava Jones earning Setter of the Week honors and fellow junior Elyse Karrels garnering Defensive Player of the Week honors after helping the Bulldogs to a 2-0 record last week. 

Jones picked up her first weekly accolade of the 2026 season and the second of her career (Sept. 8, 2025) after averaging 10.83 assists per set and orchestrating the UMD offense to a .305 hitting percentage in a pair of sweeps over Northern State and RV Jamestown. She had 34 assists Friday as she helped the Bulldogs hit .360 against the Wolves, and added 31 assists Saturday to help the team hit .257. The Detroit Lakes, Minn., native also averaged 3.0 digs per set, while posting four blocks and three service aces. 

Karrels earned her first career weekly honor after leading the NSIC with 2.0 blocks per set while helping the Bulldogs lead the league with 3.0 blocks per set as a team. She also played a key role in limiting UMD's opponents to a .123 hitting percentage across the two matches. She recorded four total blocks against Northern State, before posting a career high eight total blocks against Jamestown. 

Karrels is UMD's first Defensive Player of the Week recipient since Paige Decker earned the honor on Nov. 4, 2024. 

The Bulldogs are back in action Thursday, Sept. 24, for a midweek match at Bemidji State, before returning home for a 2 p.m. match vs. Minnesota Crookston Saturday, Sept. 26.