MATCHUPS: Minot State will travel to Minnesota State University Moorhead on Thursday at 7 p.m. before hosting two teams during homecoming week. Northern State and Briercrest will be competing in the MSU Dome on Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m., respectively.

RECORDS: Minot State is 4-4 after a tournament at Westminster College last week where the team went 1-3 with a 3-0 win against Texas A&M International. After going 2-2 at the UW-Parkside Tournament, MSU Moorhead sports a 5-3 record going into conference play. Northern State is 7-1 and has won five-straight games heading into this weekend. Briercrest has yet to compete, but will visit three teams on Friday and Saturday before visiting Minot.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State head coach Ben Kaszeta is in his second season at the front of the Beaver volleyball program. In his first season at MSU he led his team to a 3-24 record. Kaszeta worked previously as an assistant for Terry Gamble at Jacksonville State in 2014 and McNeese State in 2013. Prior to his work under Gamble, Kaszeta was the head coach at NCAA Division II Lake Superior State from 2010-2012. He has been coaching since 2007 when he started his coaching career at Mott Community College. Tammy Blake is in her 21st season as the head coach at Minnesota State University Moorhead. In her previous 20 seasons, Blake has coached her teams to a 343-269 record making her the winningest coach in MSU Moorhead history. She has led teams three times to make an NCAA Division II Regional tournament appearance. In 2000 she coached the Dragons to a NSIC conference championship. Brent Aldridge is in his sixth season as the head coach of Northern State. With a 98-47 record in his first five years he has surpassed the 100-win mark this year. Last season his team tied the school's single-season wins record with 25 wins as his team defeated two No. 1 teams for the first time in program history. Aldridge was named the NSIC Coach of the Year in 2015 for the second time in his career. Nolan Weinmaster has been the head coach of Briercrest since joining the program in 2006. He earned ACAC coach of the honors in 2010 and 2014 for his teams' performances. As a graduate of Briercrest and former player on the men's volleyball team, Weinmaster has a close connection to where he coaches. Prior to coaching at Briercrest he was the coach for 18U and 16U club teams, including Saskatchewan's 16U girls' provincial team that finished fourth in 2009.

RANKINGS: Northern State is the 10th ranked volleyball program in the country according to the AVCA September 12 poll. Neither Minot State nor any of its other opponents received votes in the rankings.  

SERIES HISTORY: The Beavers are 1-9 against MSU Moorhead in a series dating back to 1979. Fairing a little better against Northern State, MSU has a 7-21 record against the Wolves. Minot State will be looking to gain a one-game advantage against Briercrest as each team has won one game after the two teams played twice in 2010.

LAST TIME OUT: In 2015, the Beavers lost to both MSU Moorhead and Northern State three sets to none. Returning starter Kelsey Dewulf totaled 52 assists in the two games that were played at the same spot in the schedule. In 2010, Minot State played Briercrest twice. The Beavers won their home game 3-0 and lost their road game 1-3.

NOTING THE BEAVERS: After a 1-3 weekend in Salt Lake City, Minot State remains atop the NSIC defensive statistics with a second-ranked opponent kills per set mark (9.57) and a fifth-ranked opponent attacking percentage (.158). At the Fairfield Inn and Suites Invitational freshman Emily Falldorf was named to the All-Tournament team with a performance that registered 43.5 points with 39 kills and nine blocks. Falldorf also added six digs during the four games where she played multiple positions.

NOTING THE DRAGONS: MSU Moorhead has made exposed opponents weaknesses in areas of its own strengths. With a blocking rate of 1.98 per set the Dragons rank seventh in the NSIC while only being blocked 1.4 times per set ranking fourth in the conference. While digging 16.47 balls per set and only allowing opponents to dig 15.5, the Dragons rank sixth and seventh in those categories, respectively. Monica Vega records 5.59 digs per set alone as the defensive leader for MSU Moorhead and ranks third in the NSIC.

NOTING THE WOLVES: Northern State does not rank highly in the conference statistics so far this season as they have allowed the highest opponent hitting percentage (.220), but this is most likely due to the fact that they have played multiple top 25 teams so far this year. With a five-set win against No. 5 Western Washington and a three-set loss to No. 1 Concordia, St. Paul the Wolves have faced tough competition so far in 2016 preparing them for conference competition as the NSIC currently holds the top four spots in the rankings and six of the top 10.

NOTING THE CLIPPERS: Briercrest has yet to play any games in the 2016 season, but will visit three other North Dakota teams before coming to Minot on Sunday. In the four-game stint the Clippers will visit Dickinson, Bottineau and Ellendale before coming to Minot. Briercrest will be looking to continue its recent success as the team had its best record in 2014 with 16 wins and landed three players on the all-conference team last season.

DIGGING UP THE PAST: Senior libero, Cindy Pelo, is picking up from where she left off. After taking a year off of competing in 2015, she is now back and averaging 4.33 digs per set. That mark is good enough to rank ninth in the NSIC and increase her average from 2014 (4.03). Her 2014 average put her in the top 10 in MSU history. With a career average of 4.09 she sits at eighth best all time, but is on the heels of Kathy Gilbertson who averaged 4.10 during her years of competing in 2002-03.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman Hayley Swain has started off her collegiate career as a defensive force. With 30 blocks recorded on the year she's tied for third most blocks in the NSIC. Swain averages one block per set which puts her in line with just seven others in the Northern Sun who have averaged one or more blocks per set this season. Swain has also added 57 kills and 11 aces to her performance this year.

GOOD SERVICE: After recording eight kills in one match at the first tournament of the year, a mark good enough to tie for second most in a single match in MSU history, Kelsey Dewulf, kept up her performance in the second tournament with seven more. With a total of 16 aces this season Dewulf ranks second in the NSIC in aces served. Averaging 0.53 aces per set puts her at seventh in the Northern Sun as well.

VERSATILE NAGY: Newcomer and senior Janelle Nagy has found success this season in multiple ways. With 117 assists, 70 digs, 44 kills, 11 aces and 10 blocks, Nagy has filled up the stat box this season. Ranking second in assists and third in digs, the Lake Superior State transfer does not lead in any individual category, but her well-rounded game is a boost for the Beavers.

BY THE NUMBERS

0: Matches played by sophomore Brileigh Boyce who is expected to play for the first time this upcoming week after suffering an injury in the preseason.

3: Freshmen who started all five matches last weekend at the 2016 Fairfield Inn and Suites Invitational. Two other freshmen started twice as well.

45: Points recorded by freshman Shelby Spuller in 15 matches weekend on 40 kills, eight blocks and once ace. She also dug 10 balls.

314: Days in between the Beavers final home game last season to their home opener this year.