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Teams: Minot State at Winona State | Series: WSU leads series 2-1
Date: Friday, Sept. 19, 2014 | Time: 7 p.m. | Site: McCown Gymnasium
Teams: Minot State at Upper Iowa | Series: Series tied 1-1
Date: Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014 | Time: 3 p.m. | Site: Dorman Gymnasium

RECORDS: Minot State began its 2014 season with a 2-0 start for the first time in six years, but went into a preseason funk dropping four straight before getting back on track by defeating U-Mary Monday night. The Beavers enter the week with a 3-6 overall record. U-Mary enters the week with a 3-7 overall record. The Marauders are 3-4 on neutral courts and are 0-2 in home matches and 0-1 in away matches. Winona State begins the week of Sept. 15 with a 5-1 overall record. The Warriors have done well on the road holding a 2-0 record. The Peacocks of Upper Iowa hold a 5-3 record heading into NSIC play. Upper Iowa is 1-0 in their only home game thus far.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Travis Ward is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Beaver volleyball program. Ward has a career record of 36-58 during his tenure at Minot State. In 2013, Ward led the Beavers to 12 overall wins, doubling their win total from 2012 which was the team's first year in the NSIC. Melissa Chaplin is in her first year with the University of Mary. Chaplin has playing experience at NCAA Division I Iowa and Iowa State and previously coached at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in 2010. Joe Getzin is also in his first year as the head coach of Winona State. Getzin joins the Warriors after being named a two-time Coach of the Year in the NCAA Division I Southeastern Conference. Upper Iowa is led by fourth year coach Aaron Nelson. The Minnesota native helped lead Concordia University-St. Paul to multiple national championships before joining the Peacocks

RANKINGS: No teams scheduled to play the Beavers in the week of Sept. 15 are currently ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association top 25 poll. None of the teams received votes for the top 25.

NOTING THE BEAVERS: Minot State began the 2014 season 2-0 marking the best start for the program in the last six seasons, but the Beavers found themselves in a slump as they headed into Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. Minot State got back on the winning side of things when they defeated Mary 3-1 Monday night. This past weekend, the Beavers travelled to Northern State for the Northern State Invitational and dropped all four matches on the weekend. Minot State won their only set of the weekend in their first match against the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Jen Dixon (Sr., OH, Brandon, Manitoba) led the Beavers offensively, recording 52 kills over the weekend. She also played well defensively with 51 digs.

NOTING THE WARRIORS: Winona State got off to a roaring start in 2014 when they traveled to the Keweenaw Classic in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and left with a 4-0 record to show. Choosing to not play in another four-team preseason tournament, the Warriors traveled to Quincy, Ill. where they defeated Quincy this past Friday 3-0. On Saturday, Winona State dropped their first match of the season when they dropped a heartbreaker in five sets to Lewis, but the team rebounded well opening up NSIC play with a win against Upper Iowa

NOTING THE PEACOCKS: Like Winona State, Upper Iowa traveled to the Keweenaw Classic to begin their season two weekends ago, but the team wasn't quite as successful as the Warriors were. The Peacocks began the tournament with two wins, but split on the second day of the tournament coming away at 3-1. This past weekend Winona State dropped two of their three games at the Maverick Invitational, both losses coming to NSIC foes. The team picked up their lone with of the weekend to Black Hills State University. The Peacocks dropped their first NSIC game to Winona State Monday night.

BLITZIN' DIXON: Outside hitter Jen Dixon (Sr., Brandon, Manitoba) continued her impressive senior season this past weekend at the Northern State Invite. The senior recorded 52 kills but also did good work on the defensive end tallying 51 digs. Dixon leads the Beavers with 101 overall kills.

BACK IN BUSINESS: After missing the previous weekend's invitational with an injury, the Beavers' Mallory Sall (Jr., OH, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) is back on the court this week for Minot State. Even missing the past four matches, the junior has 64 kills, just one kill away from second on the team.

DIAPER DANDY: Receiving her first significant time on the court this past weekend due to Mallory Sall's injury, freshman Rachel Fagerburg (OH, Tempe, Ariz.) stepped up to the plate and seized the moment. Fagerburg is averaging 3.07 kills per set, good for third on the team. The freshman has tallied a total of 46 kills on the season.

BY THE NUMBERS
6: The NSIC continues to be known as one of the best, if not the best, conference for NCAA Division II volleyball. In the Sept. 15 American Volleyball Coaches Association top 25 poll, six teams from the NSIC sit in the top 25.

97: Minot State's Jen Dixon (Sr., OH, Brandon, Manitoba) needs just 97 more kills before she becomes the Beavers' all-time leader in kills. With Dixon's current pace, she should break the record of 1,442 held by Lisa Webb by mid-season.

244: The Beavers' Emily Byrne (Sr., S, Reno, Nev.) is on the edge of breaking an all-time Minot State volleyball record as well. Byrne currently has 3,483 assists in her career as a Beaver and needs 244 more to become the Minot State all-time leader in the assists category.