MATCHUPS: Minot State will host St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth this week on Friday and Saturday, October 7 and 8. The games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.

RECORDS: Minot State is 5-11 overall and 0-7 in NSIC play after falling in two games last week. St. Cloud State is 6-10 with a 1-6 conference record after defeated Bemidji State on Tuesday. Minnesota Duluth remained the only undefeated team in the NSIC last weekend with two wins to move to 15-0, 7-0 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. Chad Braegelmann is also in his second season as the head coach of the St. Cloud State volleyball team. The Huskies went 9-19 in his first season. Jim Boos is in his 15th season at Minnesota Duluth. He is the school's winningest coach with a 387-71 record.

RANKINGS: Minnesota Duluth is the top ranked volleyball team in the nation according to the AVCA September 26 coaches poll. Neither Minot State nor St. Cloud State received votes in the rankings.  

SERIES HISTORY: Minot State is 1-7 against St. Cloud State in a series dating back to 2011 and 0-6 against Minnesota Duluth in a series that began in 2012.

NOTING THE BEAVERS: As a young team Minot State is led on offense by freshmen as four of the first year players are the only Beavers with kills of 80 or more. Emily Falldorf and Shelby Spuller lead the team with 117 and 110 kills, respectively. Falldorf and Spuller are also in the top three in blocks this season while fellow freshmen Hayley Swain leads the team with 43 blocks.

NOTING THE HUSKIES: St. Cloud State relies on two seniors for the majority of their offensive attack. Macy Well and Shannon Klink lead the Huskies with 135 and 124 kills, respectively. Defensively, sophomore Micah Nier is a strong player with 42 blocks. No other SCSU player has more than 30.
 
NOTING THE BULLDOGS: Minnesota Duluth ranks in the top five in the NSIC in all statistical categories except for two. The Bulldogs only average 1.34 aces per set, third lowest in the NSIC, and 14.09 digs per set, sixth lowest in the conference. Junior Allison Olley is one of the strongest players for the Bulldogs as she has totaled 131 kills and amassed a .397 attack percentage (fifth in the NSIC). Olley is also a strong defensive player as she is just one of six NSIC players to average at least one block per set.

SENIOR SENSATIONS: As the only two upper classmen, seniors Cindy Pelo and Janelle Nagy are seen as the leaders of the Minot State team, and deservedly so. Pelo leads the team in digs as a libero with 248 while Nagy is utilized as an all-around player with 210 assists, 119 digs, 78 kills and 19 blocks.