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RECORDS: Minot State is off to a 4-5 start in 2013, the program's best start since the 2009 season. Minnesota State University-Moorhead is 7-1 on the season while Northern State University is a perfect 7-0 in their 2013 campaign. University of Mary stands 3-4 on the 2013 season.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State head coach Travis Ward enters his third season at the front of the Beaver volleyball program. Ward has collected a record of 24-40 in his previous two seasons as coach. Minnesota State University-Moorhead is coached by Tammy Blake. Blake is in her 19th season at the helm of the Dragon volleyball program with a career record of 324-240. In 12 of her 19 seasons, she has lead MSU-M to a winning season. Northern State University is coached by Brent Aldridge. Aldridge is in his third season with the Wolves, collecting a record of 39-25. He led NSU to a 19-11 overall record in 2012 including a 13-7 record in conference play. University of Mary is coached by Steve Novacek. Novacek is in his fourth season at the helm of the Marauder program and holds a record of 14-80. Novacek and U-Mary have managed just five wins in the NSIC throughout the last three seasons.

RANKINGS: Minot State, MSU-Moorhead, Northern State and University of Mary were not ranked in the Sept. 16  American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Poll. However, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference received fair recognition with four top-10 teams in the poll.

RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers went 2-2 at the 2013 NSIC Challenge in Sioux Falls, S.D., defeating Missouri Western State and South Dakota School of Mines while falling to Northwest Missouri State and Drury. Jen Dixon (Jr., OH, Brandon, Manitoba) had a fantastic tournament, collecting 52 kills and 62 digs while hitting .267 in the four-game span. The MSU-M Dragons went 3-1 at the University of Central Missouri Tournament defefating Pittsburg State, Emporia State and McKendree while falling to national ranked, No. 7 Central Missouri in four sets. Northern State went 3-0 at the Minnesota State University Tournament in Mankato, Minn. The Wolves took down Black Hills State, Illinois Springfield and host Minnesota State for the clean sweep. NSU is off to their best start since 2006. The Marauders traveled south to the Mount Olive College Tournament in Mount Olive, N.C. where U-Mary went 2-1 with wins over Alabama-Huntsville and host Mount Olive. Against Alabama-Huntsville, U-Mary dropped the first two sets before battling back to win three straight.

NOTING THE DRAGONS: Minnesota State University-Moorhead is off to a hot start due to their balanced offensive attack and their ability to halt their opponents' hitters. The Dragons have four attackers who each average over seven kills per match. Kaitlin VanWinkle leads the group with 97 kills on the season (12.1 kills per match) while setters Casie Baer and Sam Sullivan have spread the ball nicely with 151 and 150 assists on the year. MSU-M has held the opponents to hit just .154 on the season, largely in part to VanWinkle who has 19.5 blocks in 2013.

NOTING THE WOLVES: Northern State is off to a perfect 7-0 start with an incredible .314 hitting percentage. Kelsey Chambers, who was recently named Tournament MVP at the Minnesota State Maverick Invitational, leads the way with 113 kills (16.1 kills per match) while also hitting .343 from the field. Setter Drew Smith has also played great for NSU with 288 assists (41.3 assists per match) during her sophomore season. Of their seven wins, NSU has won four matches in straight sets and the other three in four sets. In those matches going to four sets, the Wolves have fallen in the first set each time before rattling off three straight sets to complete the win.

NOTING THE MARAUDERS: University of Mary volleyball is off to their best start since the 2010 season when they also started 3-4 in their first seven matches. The Marauders are led by Alexis Jacobs who has totaled 75 kills 60 digs so far in 2013. Like Minot State, University of Mary has a better record against NCAA Division II opponents (2-1) compared to the record against NAIA opponents (1-3). University of Mary has only posted five wins against Northern Sun teams in the past three seasons, with three coming in 2012 including one win over the Beavers.

IMPROVED HITTING: The Beavers are off to their best start to a season since 2009 and one easy to spot correlation is the difference in hitting percentage. So far in 2013, MISU has a hitting percentage of .236 while in 2012, when the Beavers collected just six wins, the team hit .130. During the 2012 season, when the Beavers hit above .200 they had a record of 6-1; when the team hit below .200, they were 0-23. The same has held true this season, with the Beavers holding a 4-2 record when hitting above the .200 mark.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Jen Dixon and Mallory Sall (So., OH, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) have been a large part of the turnaround in 2013 for Minot State. The duo has combined for 210 kills on a .242 hitting percentage through the first nine matches of the year. Maybe the biggest factor is the fact that opponents can no longer key in on a single hitter on the outside. Dixon and Sall have hit double-digit kills together six times in 2013, resulting in three wins and three loses.
Efficiency in the Middle: Middle hitters Tarah Dabovich (So., Phoenix, Ariz.) and Kelsey Wingo (Sr., Twain Harte, Calif.) have been Minot State's most efficient plays by far to start the season. Dabovich has a hitting percentage of .336 in 128 attacks while Wingo has hit .338 in 74 attacks. When Dabovich and Wingo each hit above .300, the Beavers are 3-0.

BOUTIN DIGGING IN: Freshman Alexis Boutin (L, Parker, Colo.) has provided excellent defensive support for the Beavers just nine games into her collegiate career. Boutin has made 120 digs (13.3 digs per match), including a season-high 22 digs in a five-set loss to Drury University.

BY THE NUMBERS
19: In 2013, Minot State will carry 19 players on their roster, the largest roster for the Beavers in the NCAA Division II era. 11 of the 19 have previous playing experience with the Beavers while eight are new faces joining the MISU program.

100: In the win against South Dakota School of Mines, Tarah Dabovich recorded her 100th career block. Dabovich has 24 blocks as a sophomore after recorded a team-high 76 blocks as a true freshman.  

17: After redshirting in 2012, Shaunessy Dauwalder (R-Fr., OH, Stanley, N.D.) has recorded 17 kills in 2013. Dauwalder's playing time has increased tremendously, as she has seen the floor in the last 12 sets in the last three matches. Prior to that, she played just one set in the first match of the season.