MATCHUPS: Minot State will host Mary, Concordia, St. Paul and Minnesota State on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, October 18, 21 and 22. The games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., 7 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.  

RECORDS: Minot State is 5-15 overall and 0-11 in NSIC play after falling in two games last week. Mary is 8-12, 3-8 NSIC while Concordia, St. Paul is 17-2, 9-2 NSIC and Minnesota State is 9-10, 3-8 NSIC.  

COACHES CORNER: Minot State head coach Ben Kaszeta is in his second season at the front of the Beaver volleyball program. He is 8-30 overall with the Beavers and 20-74 as a head coach. Thais France is in her second season as the head coach of Mary volleyball. In her first season the Marauders went 13-16. Brady Starkey is in his 14th year as the head coach of Concordia, St. Paul. He is the winningest active NCAA head coach with a .907 winning percentage and a 430-44 record. Lori Rittenhouse-Wollmuth is in her second season as the head coach of Minnesota State. The Mavericks went 16-13 in her first season.

RANKINGS: Concordia, St. Paul is the No. 3 ranked team in the nation according to the Oct. 17 AVCA Division II Coaches poll. Neither of Minot State's other opponents received votes.

SERIES HISTORY: The Beavers are 39-59 against Mary in a series dating back to 1976. MSU has yet to beat Concordia, St. Paul in five games played and is 1-4 against Minnesota State.  

NOTING THE BEAVERS: After a change in strategy from head coach Ben Kaszeta many of his players have seen improved play, especially Kelsey Dewulf and Janelle Nagy. After just two matches with more than 20 assists before the change, Dewulf has now averaged 35.2 assists over the past five matches. Nagy only earned double-digit kills once before the adjustment and has averages 10.2 kills since the change.

NOTING THE MARAUDERS: Mary has out-killed its opponents 946-844 so far this season with a big help 6-foot junior Lauren Randall. Randall leads the team with 309 kills while the next closest, Thayna Silva has just 219. Between the two of them they have attempted 1599 attacks while the rest of the team has attempted 1113.
 
NOTING THE GOLDEN BEARS: After moving down in the ranks once again to No. 3 the Golden Bears will be looking to climb back up to their previous No. 1 spot. Concordia, St. Paul ranks second in the NSIC in hitting percentage (.319), opponent hitting percentage (.138), kills per game (14.77) and assists per game (13.98),

NOTING THE MAVERICKS: Minnesota State's 9-10 record reflects in their stats as they have stayed relatively even with teams so far in 2016. The Mavericks have out-hit opponents 905 kills to 871, out-dug opponents 1,136 to 1,087 and out-blocked opponents 135 to 121. Minnesota State has, however, been out-served 82 aces to 76.

RISING ACCURACY: Freshman Hayley Swain has finished her past three matches with an attack percentage at or above .400. Before those three matches Swain had only completed two matches at or above that mark. Over those three contests she has landed 23 kills. Swain also blocked 10 attack attempts over those games as she leads the team with 57 blocks this season.