THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (4-5) volleyball team is set to begin Summit League play at St. Thomas (8-4) on Thursday night. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at Schoenecker Arena.
MATCH COVERAGE
The contest will feature live statistics and be available on the Summit League Network for subscribers
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU closed out non-conference play with a 3-1 win over Southern Utah at the Arizona Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Ariz. Ali Hinze posted a team-best 15 kills with eight digs, four blocks, three assists and one service ace. Alexis Boling contributed 12 kills with a .455 hitting percentage, while Maddy Dombeck also handed out a team-high 24 assists.
IN SUMMIT LEAGUE OPENERS
For the second time in three seasons, NDSU will begin Summit League play at St. Thomas. The Bison topped the Tommies, 3-0, in the 2022 league opener. NDSU has won each of its last two Summit League openers and boasts a 3-4 overall record under head coach Jennifer Lopez. The Bison topped Oral Roberts, 3-1, to begin Summit League play last season after Alexis Boling posted a team-high 16 kills.
THE SERIES VS. ST. THOMAS
This will be the ninth all-time meeting between NDSU and St. Thomas dating back to 1983. The Bison have won seven of the last eight meetings after NDSU fell short at St. Thomas, 3-2, last season. Ali Hinze led the way with a 21 kills and 11 digs.
STARTING TO HEAT UP
After starting the season 0-4, NDSU has battled back and won four its last five matches. Over that span, the Bison have notched a .270 hitting percentage and are averaging 14.0 kills per set. Ali Hinze has totaled team-best 61 kills with 50 digs over the last five matches.
BOLING HITTING AT EFFICIENT RATE
After missing the first three matches to start the season, Alexis Boling has appeared in each of the last six matches and has been one of the most efficient players in the lineup. She’s notched a .300 hitting percentage or better in all six matches, including a season-best .455 hitting percentage in the win over Southern Utah. Additionally, Boling has only posted nine total errors across six matches.
PASSING IT AROUND
The Bison have started three different players at the setter position this season through the first nine matches. Maddy Dombeck started the season opener with 18 assists against UAlbany and Eke Denessen made one start against Florida Gulf Coast. Emily Bruss has started each of the last seven matches and has recorded a team-high 161 assists, including a season-best 30 assists in the win over SIUE.
SHE CAN DO IT ALL
Ali Hinze has totaled the most kills in the NDSU Division I era with 1,563, which ranks seventh on all-time Bison kills list. 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 13th in the nation with 1,563 total kills.
Hinze has also reached the 1,000 career digs mark and has tallied 1,267 over four seasons. 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).
ENDLESS DEFENSIVE ENERGY
Logan O’Brien provides endless energy on the defensive side of the floor and has amassed a team-high 136 total digs this season. She recently surpassed the 1,000 career digs mark and has totaled 1,027 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 826 digs and is averaging 3.01 digs per set, which ranks ninth on the all-time Bison digs per set list.
ARIZONA WILDCAT CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Ali Hinze and Alexis Boling were both named to the Arizona Wildcat Classic All-Tournament Team. Hinze posted a team-high 24 kills with 14 digs and six total blocks, while Boling contributed 17 kills with a .424 hitting percentage.
FORT MYERS CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Logan O’Brien earned a spot on the Fort Myers Classic All-Tournament Team last week after leading the Bison with a team-high 50 digs. The Fort Myers, Fla., native averaged 3.85 digs per set and reached double figures in all three matches.
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 111 career matches. Hinze has also surpassed the 100 career matches mark with 108 over four 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 413-108 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
NDSU will be back in action hosting Denver (5-5) on Thursday, Oct. 3. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.