THIS WEEK: Minot State University begins the home season with a matchup with NJCAA Williston State College Thursday at the MSU Dome (7 p.m.) before heading to Dickinson to face an old rival Saturday (5 p.m. MT)

TRADITION IN TRANSITION: Minot State is in its third season of a four-year transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. MSU advanced to Year Three Provisional status in July and is expected to complete the transition in July 2012. Minot State was selected to join the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 2012-13.

RECORDS: MSU is 2-6 overall. The Tetons come into the week with a 6-6 record, while Dickinson State is seeking its first win at 0-12.

COACHES CORNER: The Beavers are coached by first-year head coach Travis Ward. Ward is 2-6 in his career. Former Minot State assistant coach Alissa Hoehn is the head coach at Williston State and is 22-26 overall in two seasons. Maura Bronte-Pfeifer is in her first season at DSU and is 0-12 overall with the Blue Hawks

ON THE AIR: All of the Minot State matches are online with both live stats and live broadcasts at (www.msubeavers.com).

RANKINGS: Minot State was not ranked in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. WSC was not ranked in the NJCAA poll and Dickinson State was not ranked in the NAIA Volleyball Coaches Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State fell four times at the Minnesota State Moorhead Tharaldson Classic, losing to St. Cloud State, Augustana College, Minnesota Crookston and Northern State University – all Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference teams. WSC defeated Dawson Community College (Mont.) 3-0 in its last match. DSU dropped four matches at the Corn Palace Classic last weekend.

NOTING THE TETONS: Williston State College comes to Minot with just 10 players on the roster, including seven freshmen… Of the five major statistical categories – kills, assists, aces, blocks, digs – WSC is led by five different players… The offense has been sparked by Dani Dukart and Jackie Lee who have 204 kills between them… Karly Stack has been a mainstay at setter for the Tetons as she has 293 assists so far this season.

NOTING THE BLUE HAWKS: Dickinson State's 0-12 start has been fueled by seven sweeps in 12 outings. The Blue Hawks have only pushed a match to five games twice… The Blue Hawks have been killed by hitting errors as they have amassed 226 errors compared to 329 kills… DSU doesn't have a player with 100 kills through 12 matches. Jennifer Hartman leads the team with 98 kills… Kelsey Chan leads the team with 298 assists.

ON PAR: Minot State has pushed most of its opponents over the first eight matches of the season, but has fallen just short on a couple occasions. The statistics back that up as MSU and its opponents' stats are nearly identical over eight matches. MSU is averaging .2 kills per game less than its opponents, .3 assists fewer and .8 fewer aces. MSU does have an advantage of.2 in blocks, but has .9 higher errors.

GETTING IN THE MIX: MSU sophomore Chelsey Bryant (OH, Brandon, Manitoba) is consistently at the top of every category for the Beavers, but doesn't lead any. She is second on the team in digs per set at 2.03, third in aces with six and fifth in kills with 40.

SET IN THEIR WAYS: Minot State has not used many combinations of players over the first eight matches as four players have seen action in all 32 sets played, while three others are just one set shy of the max. Kelsey Wingo (Fr., MH, Twain Harte, Calif.), Sara Friesen (So., MH, Brandon, Manitoba), Jen Dixon (So., OH, Brandon, Manitoba) and Janice Rose Reinbolt (Sr., MH, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan) have all played in every set.

MEET ME AT THE NET: Janice Rose Reinbolt and Kelsey Wingo have paced the Beavers blocking game so far this season, with both totaling 30 over eight matches. Reinbolt has five solo blocks and 25 assisted blocks, while Wingo has 30 assists on the season.