MINOT, N.D.- The Minot State volleyball team (0-18, 0-11 NSIC) will head back onto the road to square off in Sioux Falls, S.D. against the Augustana Vikings (13-6, 5-6 NSIC) this Friday Oct. 14th 6 p.m. The Beavers will then head to Wayne, Neb. to face the number one team in the nation the Wayne State Wildcats (21-0, 11-0 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. 

The Vikings are 1-1 the past weekend, first defeating MSU-Moorhead Friday 3-0 on the road then getting bounced 3-0 Saturday at Northern State. The Vikings have spiked 901 kills for 13.1 kills per set. The Vikings serve has been excellent garnering 134 service aces, all while saving 1,071 digs and 128.5 blocks. The duo of senior Kate Reimann and senior Maddy Guetter lead the Vikings offense with 225 and 215 kills, respectively. Guetter also leads AU with 37 service aces. Senior Erika Bute leads the Auggie defense with 343 digs. Senior Piper Asche has 65 blocks to her name on the year to lead Auggie. 

The Wildcats are coming off back-to-back 3-0 victories over the Dragons and Wolves on the road. The Wildcats have 934 kills on the year for 13.5 kills per set. WSC has 116 service aces on the year while getting 1,163 digs and 165 blocks on the year. The Wildcats have only dropped six sets out of their 21 victories. Sophomore Taya Beller, junior Kelsie Cada, and sophmore Maggie Brahmer all have over 200 kills on the year to lead WSC. Beller has cumulated 280 kills, while Cada and Brahmer each have 240 and 218 kills, respectively. Cada also has 27 service aces to lead the WSC service. Senior Jessie Brandl lead the defensive efforts for the Wildcats with 294 digs, while Brahmer leads the Wildcats with 86 blocks respectively. 

The Beavers are coming off an almost upset of the 8th-ranked Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs 3-2, followed by a 3-0 sweep at the paws of the Sioux Falls Cougars. Emily Kotelnikoff was the leading attacker for MSU serving up 21 kills on the weekend, while Jaina Macaulay served up four service aces. Taylor Wyatt was the leading Beaver blocker with five while Alex Koontz had the most digs with 21 on the weekend, thanks to a 17 dig performance against SMSU. 

The Beavers will follow their road tests with a home-and-home series against the MSU-Moorhead Dragons (5-14, 2-9 NSIC) and the Northern State Wolves (11-8, 6-5 NSIC). The Beavers will first host the Dragons Thursday Oct. 20th at the MSU Dome with a 6 p.m. tip off. The Beavers will then take to Aberdeen, S.D. to rally against the Wolves on Saturday Oct. 22nd with tip-off set for 2 p.m.