THIS WEEK: Minot State starts a modest three-game home stand with rival University of Mary on a midweek Tuesday matchup and finishes off the weekend with Bemidji State Friday and Minnesota Crooskton Saturday. The Tuesday and Friday games are scheduled for 7 p.m. while the Saturday contest is at 3 p.m. at the Minot State Dome.

RECORDS: Minot State (3-6, 0-2) lost two games last week, one at home against MSU Moorhead and one on the road against No. 22 Northern State. The University of Mary (5-6, 0-2) fell in first two game last week also against Northern State and MSU Moorhead. Bemidji State (2-9, 0-2) played three games last week including its first two conference games going 0-3. Minnesota Crookston (5-5, 1-1) split last week with a loss against No. 1 Minnesota Duluth and a win against Bemidji State.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State head coach Ben Kaszeta is in his first season at the front of the Beaver volleyball program. Kaszeta worked previously as an assistant for Terry Gamble at Jacksonville State in 2014 and McNeese State in 2013. Prior to his work under Gamble, Kaszeta was the head coach at NCAA Division II Lake Superior State from 2010-2012. He has been coaching since 2007 when he started his coaching career at Mott Community College. Thais Franca is also in her debut season with Mary as she took over the program in December of 2014. The former All-American has coaching experience dating back to 2007 and was named a head coach of St. Andrews Presbyterian College in 2009. As a player in four years, on three different teams, Franca has a record of 149-17. Wayne Chadwick is in his sixth season as the head coach for Bemidji State. Chadwick sports a 33-106 record in his first five season. Prior to being named the head coach Chadwick spent three years as an assistant coach for NCAA Division I University of Tulsa. Lee Anderson is leading the Minnesota Crookston volleyball team for his ninth season in 2015. Anderson coached his team to an 11-17 record last season including a 5-14 conference record. Before joining the Golden Eagles Anderson spent two years as the head coach for Glenville State College.

RANKINGS: All teams playing in Minot this week were unranked in the Sept. 22 American Volleyball Coaches' Association Poll.

SERIES HISTORY: The Beavers have a long history with Mary in a series that has been played since 1976. Mary leads the series 56-39. Bemidji State leads its series with a 6-3 record in games dating back to 1987. Minot State and Minnesota Crookston have split 20 games since 1994 with the record sitting at 10-10.

LAST TIME OUT: Last season the Beavers were 4-1 against Mary, Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston. Playing Mary twice in 2014 the Beavers won six of the seven sets played against the Marauders. Winning in four sets MSU beat Bemidji State last season by outscoring BSU 91-82. At the Northern State Invite the Beavers lost in four sets to the Golden Eagles, but later in 2014 in conference play Minot State was able to pull out a five set victory.

NOTING THE MSU BEAVERS: Minot State struggled last week falling in all six sets played. Offensive leader Mallory Sall (Sr., OH, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) played with an injured ankle and tallied 17 kills and 24 digs in the two matches. Struggling to get the offense in sync MSU had an attack percentage of .124 against MSU Moorhead and .084 against No. 22 Northern State. The Beavers did not have a served ace in either match.

NOTING THE MARAUDERS: The University of Mary lost its first two conference games last week against the two opponents Minot State also lost. Struggling offensively the Marauders failed to get an attack percentage over 10 percent in either match. With steady non-conference play Mary was able to bolster its record by going 5-4 in tournaments and a home match against Dickinson State. 

NOTING THE BSU BEAVERS: The Beavers began the season 0-4 at the Grand Valley State Laker Riverfront Classic before winning their first two games at their next tournament hosted by Jamestown College and Valley City State. With a 2-9 record after two conference losses Bemidji State will play Minnesota Crookston before heading to Minot State and Mary this week in search of their first conference win of the year.

NOTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Minnesota Crookston has split its first 10 games with a 5-5 record this season. In their opening weekend the Golden Eagles went 3-1 only losing to No. 17 Florida Southern College. Crookston has also faced off against No. 8 Grand Valley State and No. 1 Minnesota Duluth losing in both matches, but gaining enough experience to win their second conference game against St. Cloud State in three sets.

TARGETING THE OPPOSITION: In the first conference games against the Beavers were able to target one of their opponent's best players and limit their success. Kaitlin VanWinkle has been the offensive leader in 2015 for the Dragons averaging four kills per set with an attack percentage of .450. Against Minot State she was limited to 2.33 kills per set and only hit an attack percentage of .091. VanWinkle also committed five of her 20 season errors in Minot.

NORTH DAKOTA NATIVE: As the only player from North Dakota on the roster Shaunessy Dauwalder (MH, Jr., Stanley, N.D.) had a season best performance at home last week against MSU Moorhead. Dauwalder had a season high seven blocks and matched her season high of nine attacks in the only game played in Minot so far this season. Minot State hosts all three matches this week.

DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST: Redshirt freshman Hailey Richards (Humbolt, Saskatchewan) is currently in a unique position known as a defensive specialist. Currently she rotates in with offensive players, mainly Taylor Butters (OH, Jr., Spokane Valley, Wash.), when they move from the front row to the back row and rotates out as the spot moves back to the front. Richards has capitalized on the opportunity by competing in every set played since Sept. 11. That match was Richards's first playing experience. Since then she has accumulated 30 digs.

BY THE NUMBERS

6: Home wins in 2014 for Minot State. Three of those home wins came against Mary, Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. 

9: Served aces from senior Tarah Dabovich (MH, Phoenix, Ariz.). Dabovich leads the team with served aces averaging one per match.

20: Kills from setter Kelsey Dewulf (Fr., Huntley, Ill.) who leads the team in attack percentage (.381) with at least 40 attack attempts.