THE MATCHES AT A GLANCE

Date: Friday, September 18 @ No. 23 Minnesota Duluth Location: Duluth, Minn. – Romano Gymnasium

Start Time: 5 p.m. Head Coach: Jim Boos

 

Date: Saturday, September 19 @ Bemidji State Location: Bemidji, Minn. – BSU Gymnasium

Start Time: 2 p.m. Head Coach: Hahni Johnson

 
FAN INFORMATION & GAME COVERAGE
Live Stats: https://umdbulldogs.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary & https://bsubeavers.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Live Video [$]: https://www.midcosportsplus.com/?school=northern-state-university
Tickets: https://am.ticketmaster.com/umd/buy & https://bsubeavers.com/sports/2023/1/24/hometown-tickets.aspx
 
NORTHERN STATE STORYLINES

• Northern State hits the road for their first conference away matches of the season
• The Wolves are coming off a 2-0 weekend, getting sweeps over Minn. Crookston and MSU Moorhead
• Two NSU players just received weekly NSIC honors; Ava Nilsson named conference Setter of the Week while Linnea Nesheim was named the league's Offensive Player of the Week
• Nesheim was also awarded the AVCA National Player of the Week with her 5.50 kills per set, .439 attack percentage, 6.17 points per set, 18 total digs, and three aces; she is the second in program history to win the award
• As a team, NSU is averaging 14.2 kills, 13.6 assists, 14.6 digs, 1.5 blocks, and 1.7 aces per set this season; Northern has 99 more kills, 96 more assists, and 78 more digs than their opponents
• The offense is hitting .322, led by Nesheim with 148 kills, averaging 3.89 per set; defensively, NSU is holding their opponents to a .229 attack percentage
• Nilsson totals 452 assists on the year as well as 17 service aces to top all Wolves; she racked up 87 of the team's 96 assists last weekend
• Leading the team at the net with 32 total blocks is Lydia Nelson; Ashley Yost leads the defense with 164 digs, averaging 4.32 per set
• Nesheim (first), Nilsson (first), Victoria Persha (third), and Yost are top-5 in the NSIC in kills/set, assists/set, hitting percentage, and digs/set, respectively
• Northern State is top-5 in the NSIC in four major stat categories and first in the league in hitting percentage (.322)

  
No. 23 MINNESOTA DULUTH STORYLINES

• Minnesota Duluth falls at 9-1 on the season and 2-0 in conference action; they are coming off sweep victories at UMary and Minot State
• The Bulldogs were selected to finish one spot ahead (by three points) of the Wolves in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll
• UMD enters the top-25 for the first time this season, landing at No. 23 in the country
• Their matchup against the Wolves marks their first home conference match of the year
• Seven of Duluth's nine wins have come by way of sweep
• The team averages 14.9 kills per set and a .289 attack percentage; they also average 13.4 assists, 15.1 digs, and 1.8 blocks each set
• This season, UMD's leader in kills (116) and digs (113) is Madeline Guetzkow, while Ava Jones and Paige Decker lead them in assists (391) and blocks (24), respectively
• The NSIC leaderboard has Elyse Karrels as second in hitting percentage and Jones as second in assists per set
• Minnesota Duluth is top-5 in the NSIC in nine major stat categories and first in points and kills

  
THE WOLVES AND BULLDOGS HISTORY

• The last meeting between the two teams took place on October 10, 2025, where Northern State came away with a 3-0 win over Minnesota Duluth
• The Wolves are currently on a 5-match win streak vs the Bulldogs
• The all-time record between the two programs is UMD – 53, NSU – 10

 
BEMIDJI STATE STORYLINES

• BSU is 10-0 on the year (2-0 NSIC) and sits at first in the conference standings after being predicted to finish 13 in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll
• The Beavers have swept the last seven of their opponents, including at Minot and at Umary to start league play
• Despite the 10-0 start to the season, Bemidji has not received any votes in the AVCA Division II Poll
• They have already won three more matches than they did all of last season when they went 7-21
• The team averages 13.8 kills, 12.8 assists, 13.5 digs, 1.4 blocks, and 2.6 aces per set while hitting .297; defensively they hold their opponents to a .130 attack percentage
• This season's leaders are Ella Kratochvil in kills (120), Madison Tripp in assists (350), Ava Boelter in digs (125), and Isabella Vander Velden in blocks (28)
• Ava Athman leads the Beavers in points per set at 4.13, ranking third in the conference; Kratochvil and Tripp are also in the league's top-5 in their respective stat categories
• Bemidji State is top-5 in the NSIC in nine major stat categories and first in opponent hitting percentage, opponent assists, opponent kills, service aces, and opponent digs

  
THE WOLVES AND BEAVERS HISTORY

• The last meeting between the two teams took place on October 11, 2025, where Northern State came away with a 3-1 win over Bemidji State
• The Wolves are currently on a 20-match win streak vs the Beavers

• The all-time record between the two programs is NSU – 46, BSU – 33