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FARGO, N.D. -- Venturing outside the friendly confines of The Jungle for the first time in 27 days, the IUPUI volleyball team will look stay at the top of The Summit League when they take on North Dakota State and South Dakota State on Friday and Saturday, respectively.  Both matches will start at 7 p.m. CT.

In a meeting of the conference's only two remaining undefeated teams in The Summit, IUPUI (10-2, 3-0 Summit) trails North Dakota State (8-2, 4-0 Summit) by one-half game in the standings.  Both teams enter with multi-match winning streaks as well.  Overall, the Bison have won 23 straight Summit League matches and six straight against the Jaguars.

North Dakota State took all three matches against IUPUI in 2008, winning a pair of 3-1 matches in the regular season before sweeping the Jaguars, 3-0, in The Summit League Tournament semifinals.

The defending conference champions, NDSU boasts a formidable front row, led by defending Summit League Player of the Year Chrissy Knuth.  Knuth, who is hitting .369 to pact The Summit, has helped the Bison to a .221 team hitting percentage, the best in the conference.  Knuth is also a stalwart defender at the net, averaging 1.09 blocks per set.

Still the Jaguars are hitting .203 as a team, led by Monica Suding's .285 hitting percentage.  Kalyse Reimbold also ranks among the conference's top hitters, posting 3.28 kills per set, the fifth-best mark in The Summit, placing directly behind Knuth (3.46 kills per set).

As was the case in 2008, IUPUI is led by their stout defense.  A year after leading the NCAA in digs, the Jaguars currently sit sixth in the rankings with 17.95 digs per set.  Both Shari Bernhardt and Rachel Holmes are nationally ranked in digging, with Bernhardt placing 54th with 4.58 digs per set; Holmes is 140th with 3.98.  Both averages are among the top 10 in The Summit, with Bernhardt sitting in second and Holmes in fifth.  NDSU's Kelly Lopez leads the conference with 4.69 digs per set.

A capacity crowd of 1,372 is expected to greet the Jaguars at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.

Following their match in Fargo, IUPUI will bus south on I-29 to Brookings, S.D., where a matchup with South Dakota State (3-7, 2-2 Summit) awaits.  The Jaguars will be looking for their first win in the Mount Rushmore State as the Jackrabbits hold a 3-1 series lead.

The Jacks will be playing just their fourth match at home on Saturday, but currently hold a 2-0 mark at Frost Arena, having held their home court against Centenary and Oral Roberts two weeks ago.

IUPUI will focus on stopping Kelli Fiegen, as the sophomore averages 3.23 kills per set.  Fiegen easily paces the Jackrabbits with a .324 hitting percentage, which is second in The Summit League.  Defensively, South Dakota State relies on their front row, as the Jacks deliver 1.97 blocks per set and just 13.33 digs per set.

Both matches will be available via live stats, while North Dakota State will have streaming video available.  South Dakota State will provide streaming video and audio of the match on Saturday.  All links all available at the top of the page.