ST. PAUL, Minn. – The third-ranked Concordia University Golden Bears volleyball team (23-3, 16-2 NSIC) is set to take on the second-ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (25-1, 18-0 NSIC) on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in a non-conference matchup.
 
This meeting between the top two teams in the NCAA Central Region marks the annual Roast the Dogs and will be a crucial match in determining the seeding of the NCAA Region Tournament in a few weeks. Roast the Dogs is the annual hot dog cookout on the Gangelhoff Plaza beginning at 6 p.m. The first 200 fans will receive a hot dog along with tunes blaring in the background.
 
Concordia and Minnesota Duluth meet for the 44th time in the school's history with UMD holding a 24-19 advantage in the series.  Recently, Concordia has had control in the series with a 14-5 in the last 19 matches.  The two teams are familiar foes as they met four times last season, splitting the series with two wins apiece. 
 
This season, the Bulldogs made quick work of the Golden Bears in a sweep in Duluth back on October 11th. Minnesota Duluth stifled the Golden Bear attack as they held them to a .178 hitting percentage while hitting .308 themselves. UMD also won the service battle as they had five aces compared to two for Concordia.
 
Mariya Sampson was a definite bright spot for the Golden Bears as she finished the match with a team-high 11 kills and nine digs with an efficient .391 hitting percentage. Anna Schlaak added eight kills and 13 digs as she fell two kills short of a double-double.
 
Both teams enter into the weekend riding high as the Golden Bears have won eight in a row, including three over ranked opponents, while the Bulldogs have won 19 in a row dating back to September 13^th.
 
The Golden Bears will wrap up the regular season on the road this weekend at MSU Moorhead and Northern State before opening up the NSIC/US Bank Tournament next Tuesday.