NDSU Volleyball Closes Out Regular Season Play Against Kansas City and North Dakota

THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (10-13, 6-8 Summit) volleyball team wraps up regular season play hosting Kansas City (5-19, 3-10 Summit) on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The Bison then welcome North Dakota (9-15, 2-11 Summit) for the regular season finale on Tuesday. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
 
MATCH COVERAGE
Both matches will feature live statistics and be available on the Summit League Network for subscribers. The Tuesday night match against North Dakota will also broadcast on WDAY Xtra and Bison 1660.
 
PROMOTIONS
The Saturday match against Kansas City will be senior night with the first 200 fans receiving a free senior night poster. The Tuesday match against North Dakota will be a gold rush with fans encouraged to wear gold.
 
TICKETS
General admission tickets are $11 for adults and $6 for youth ages 3-17, and reserved tickets are $13. Match day tickets are sold at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse and are also available at GoBison.com/tickets. Doors open one (1) hour prior to the match. Free parking is available in Visitors Lot E.
 
SATURDAY IS SENIOR NIGHT
Prior to the match against Kansas City, NDSU will recognize Eke Denessen, Ali Hinze, Alexis Boling, Logan O’Brien and Morgan Middleton for senior night.
 
TWO TO GO IN SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY
NDSU is idle on Thursday night and has only two matches remaining in regular season play. The Bison are currently positioned tied with Denver for the fifth spot in the league standings. South Dakota State, Omaha and South Dakota have all secured a place in the Summit League Tournament with St. Thomas ineligible for postseason play.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU fell short at South Dakota State last Saturday, 3-0. Arianna Blohm tallied seven kills with a .385 hitting percentage and Alexis Boling also added seven kills with a .357 hitting percentage. Maddy Dombeck handed out 13 assists with three digs and Logan O’Brien contributed a match-high 22 digs.
 
THE SERIES VS. KANSAS CITY
This will be the 29th all-time meeting between NDSU and Kansas City dating back to 1982 with the Bison leading the series, 21-7. Earlier this season, NDSU outlasted Kansas City in five sets, 3-2. Ali Hinze led the way logging a match-high 18 kills and 12 digs, while Alexis Boling connected on a season-best 15 kills with a .452 hitting percentage. Eke Denessen handed out a team-best 24
assists and Logan O’Brien notched a season-best 29 digs on the defensive end of the floor.
 
THE SERIES VS. NORTH DAKOTA
This will be the 112th all-time meeting between NDSU and North Dakota dating back to 1966 with the Bison leading the series, 90-21. NDSU is 8-2 against North Dakota over the last 10 meetings and most recently topped the Fighting Hawks, 3-1, earlier this season in Grand Forks. Lauren Jansen paced the Bison logging a double-double with 11 digs and team-best 10 kills. Maddy Dombeck also added a double-double with a team-best 19 assists and 12 digs.
 
LOCKED IN FROM THE SERVICE LINE
NDSU has been one of the most effective teams in the Summit League at the service line this season. The Bison lead the Summit League with 1.70 aces per set. NDSU has reached double digits in aces in six matches this season, including a season-best 16 against St. Thomas on Oct. 24. That total marked the most aces in the NDSU Division I era and second-most all-time in a five-set match. Lauren Jansen is slotted third in the Summit League with a career-high 33 aces this season.
 
RANDALL SETS NEW RECORD
Baily Randall contributed a career-best eight service aces in the win at St. Thomas on Oct. 24, which was the most-ever in a four-set match in NDSU history. That mark is tied for the fifth-most in a four-set match across NCAA Division I volleyball this season. Randall has totaled a career-best 29 total aces this season.
 
SHE CAN DO IT ALL
Ali Hinze has totaled the most kills in the NDSU Division I era with 1,722, which ranks sixth on the all-time Bison kills list. She enters the week 40 kills away from passing Brenda Schultz (1987-90) for fifth place in Bison history with 1,762. Janet Cobbs (1985-88) is the NDSU all-time leader with 2,091 career kills. Among active career leaders in NCAA Division I, Hinze ranks 14th in the nation with 1,709 total kills.
 
Hinze has also reached the 1,000 career digs mark and has tallied 1,421 over four seasons, which ranks seventh on the Bison all-time list. She’s only the second player in the NDSU Division I era to record at least 1,000 career digs and 1,000 career kills, joining Brynn Joki (2009-12).
 
O’BRIEN IN SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY
Logan O’Brien leads the Summit League with 250 digs in conference play. She also ranks second in Summit League play with 4.46 digs per set. O’Brien has reached double digits in digs in 11-of-14 league matches, including seven with at least 20 digs.
 
ENDLESS DEFENSIVE ENERGY
Logan O’Brien provides endless energy on the defensive side of the floor and has amassed a team-high 386 total digs this season, which ranks third in the Summit League. She recently surpassed the 1,000 career digs mark and has totaled 1,277 career digs. O’Brien started her career at North Florida for two seasons with 201 digs. Over the last three seasons at NDSU, she has contributed 1,076 digs and is averaging 3.26 digs per set, which ranks sixth on the all-time Bison digs per set list.
 
BOLING HITTING AT EFFICIENT RATE
After missing the first three matches to start the season, Alexis Boling has appeared in each of the last 20 matches and has been one of the most efficient players in the lineup. She’s notched a .300 hitting percentage or better in 12 matches, including a season-best .467 hitting percentage in the win over Denver on Oct. 3.
 
PASSING IT AROUND
The Bison have started three different players at the setter position this season. Maddy Dombeck has made six starts this season and leads the Bison with 391 assists, while Emily Bruss has made seven starts and has recorded 217 assists. Eke Denessen has totaled 240 assists and has made 10 starts, including nine in Summit League play.
 
PEAK PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Logan O’Brien was named the Summit League Defensive Peak Performer of the Week after she totaled a match-best and season-high 26 digs with five assists in the win over St. Thomas on Sept. 26. She averaged 6.50 digs per set and it marked her third 20-dig performance of the season.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Senior outside hitter Ali Hinze and senior middle blocker Alexis Boling were selected to the Summit League Players to Watch list. Hinze, who has earned All-Summit League First Team honors each of the last two seasons, led the Bison and ranked second in the Summit League with 393 kills. Boling posted a career-best 299 kills last season and averaged 2.77 per set. She also added a career-high 63.0 total blocks on the defensive side.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Bison were picked fourth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches’ Poll and garnered 44 total points. Omaha took the top spot with 64 total points and eight first place votes.
 
STILL HIGH-POWERED ON OFFENSE
The Bison ranked second in the Summit League in 2023 in total kills with 1,492. NDSU brings back five players this season that contributed at least 170 kills last season, including Ali Hinze (393), Alexis Boling (299), Ally Barth (190), Lauren Jansen (188) and Arianna Blohm (179). NDSU has ranked inside the top two in total kills in the Summit League each of the last two seasons.
 
LOOKING BACK AT THE 2023 SEASON
The Bison posted an 18-11 (9-7 Summit) overall record last season and advanced to the Summit League Tournament semifinal round for the second straight season. NDSU has won at least 18 matches back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
 
GRUNWALD JOINS COACHING STAFF
Kris Grunwald joined the coaching staff in March and brings 33 years of Division I experience, including two head coaching stints at UConn (2014-19) and Auburn (1998-00). He comes to NDSU after spending the last three seasons as the associate head coach at Virginia.
 
EXPERIENCE IN THE LINEUP
NDSU returns five starters this season and the roster also features five seniors: Eke Denessen, Ali Hinze, Alexis Boling, Logan O’Brien and Morgan Middleton. O’Brien, who played in 49 career matches at North Florida prior to NDSU, has the most experience on the roster having appeared in 134 career matches. Hinze has also surpassed the 100 career matches mark with 131 over five seasons.
 
YOUNG BISON
The Bison welcome five newcomers to the roster this season: Tanith Roush, Maddy Dombeck, Layla Haritatos, Sadie Johnson and Emily Bruss. Arianna Blohm, Emma Tallman and Lauren Jansen are also underclassman on the roster and will each be entering their sophomore seasons. Blohm and Jansen were named to the All-Summit League Freshmen Team last season.
 
THIS IS OUR HOUSE
The Bison have called Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse home since 1978 and have notched a 415-112 overall record at home during that span. NDSU picked up its 400th win at the BBF after sweeping Kansas City, 3-0, on Oct. 1, 2022.
 
TAKIN’ CARE OF BUSINESS IN THE CLASSROOM
NDSU earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 12th straight year in 2023-24. The Bison also earned a spot on the AVCA Team Academic Honor Roll with a team GPA in the top 20 percent of NCAA Division I for the fifth straight season. NDSU boasted a 3.74 cumulative GPA last season.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Summit League Championship is set for Nov. 24-26 and will be hosted by Kansas City in Kansas City, Mo.