THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (3-4) volleyball team wraps up non-conference play at the Arizona Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Ariz. The Bison will take on Arizona (9-0) on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. CT and finish the trip against Southern Utah (4-4) on Friday at 5:00 p.m. CT
MATCH COVERAGE
Both matches will feature live statistics. The Thursday night contest at Arizona will broadcast on ESPN+, while the Friday match against Southern Utah will be available on Flo Volleyball for subscribers.
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU earned its third win the last four matches after downing Montana, 3-1. Baily Randall led the way for the Bison recording a match-best 16 kills with a .440 hitting percentage. Maddy Dombeck also contributed her first career double-double with 23 assists and 12 digs.
STARTING TO HEAT UP
After starting the season 0-4, NDSU has battled back and won three of its last four matches. Over that span, the Bison have notched a .240 hitting percentage and are averaging 13.44 kills per set. Ali Hinze paces NDSU with a team-best 59 total kills and is averaging 3.69 per set over the last four matches.
THE SERIES VS. ARIZONA
This will be the first all-time meeting between NDSU and Arizona. The Wildcats will be the second Big 12 opponent the Bison have faced this season after hosting West Virginia on Sept. 6. The Mountaineers topped NDSU after winning the final three sets, 3-2.
THE SERIES VS. SOUTHERN UTAH
This will be the eighth all-time meeting between NDSU and Southern Utah dating back to 2009 with the Bison leading the series, 7-0. In their most recent meeting in 2011, NDSU topped Southern Utah, 3-1, in Cedar City, Utah.
PASSING IT AROUND
The Bison have started three different players at the setter position this season through the first seven 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 five matches and has recorded a team-high 137 assists, including a season-best 30 assists in the win over SIUE.
MILESTONE WATCH
Logan O’Brien is closing in on the 1,000 career digs mark with 994 over five seasons. She has totaled 793 digs over three seasons at NDSU before starting her career at North Florida for two seasons with 201 digs.
SHE CAN DO IT ALL
Ali Hinze has totaled the most kills in the NDSU Division I era with 1,539, 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 12th in the nation with 1,539 total kills.
Hinze has also reached the 1,000 career digs mark and has tallied 1,253 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).
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.