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Northern State hits the road for a pair of matches this weekend after finishing its four-game homestand with a 3-1 record over the past two weeks. The Wolves (13-3, 6-3 NSIC) will face St. Cloud State Friday at 7 p.m. and plays No. 2 Minnesota Duluth at 4 p.m. Saturday.

St. Cloud State is 12-5 on the season and 6-3 in league play. The Huskies are currently on a four-match winning-streak and are coming off victories last weekend over Minot State and U-Mary.

SCSU is led by Ellie Dietzen's 179 kills this season. Dietzen is currently seventh in the league in attack percentage at .360. Defensively, the Huskies are led by libero Brianne Stamer who is sixth in the NSIC averaging 4.35 digs per set this season.

Second-ranked Minnesota Duluth is 18-1 overall and 8-1 in league play. The Bulldogs' lone loss this season was a 3-2 defeat against No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul in late September.

Duluth is terrific on both offense and defense on the court. The Bulldogs are led by senior outside hitter Kate Lange who leads the league with 5.25 kills per set. Middle blocker Monica Turner is third in the conference with a .409 attack percentage, while setter Ashley Hinsch is third in the NSIC averaging 12.36 assists per set. While in the back row, defensive specialist Julie Rainey currently leads the conference with 5.22 digs per set in 2013.

Northern is coming off a strong weekend as the Wolves recorded two sweeps last weekend over Bemidji State and Minnesota, Crookston. NSU has won three matches in-a-row since its 3-0 loss to Augustana.

Setter Drew Smith averaged 14.33 assists per set last weekend, including an incredible 15 per set (45 total assists) against Crookston. Smith is currently fifth in the NSIC averaging 11.69 assists per set.

Outside hitter Kelsey Chambers is third in the league in both kills per set (4.16) and points per set (4.51). While freshman middle hitter Tori Biach is second in the conference with a .412 attack percentage. Libero Sami Nygaard is fourth in the NSIC averaging 4.45 digs per set and outside hitter Cari McGarvie is fifth averaging .38 service aces per set.

Minnesota Duluth will be the third top-10 opponent Northern faces this season. The Wolves are 1-1 in those matches. NSU lost 3-0 to No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State and beat then-10^th-ranked Wayne State 3-2. Northern is also receiving votes this week to be ranked in the AVCA top-25 poll.