Friday, November 20
Denver, Colo.
6 p.m.
North Dakota State
vs
South Dakota
Photo by: Richard Svaleson
NDSU Opens With South Dakota on Friday at Summit League Volleyball Championships
11/18/2015 6:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
NDSU Volleyball Release.pdf
#SummitVB Championships Page
#SummitVB Championships Bracket.pdf
THIS WEEK: No. 4-seed North Dakota State (19-11, 10-6 Summit League) is scheduled to open The Summit League Tournament play against the University of South Dakota (14-15, 8-8 SL) at 6 p.m. Central Friday, Nov. 20, at the University of Denver's Hamilton Gymnasium ... The NDSU-USD winner is scheduled to play host and top-seeded Denver (25-6, 13-3 SL) at 6 p.m. Central Saturday, Nov. 21 ... North Dakota State won its last four matches in a row and nine of the last 11 to earn the No. 4 seed ... NDSU is 5-8 in road matches and 6-0 at neutral sites this season ... South Dakota is 3-9 in away matches and 6-3 at neutral sites.
The Summit League Volleyball Championship Schedule
Friday, Nov. 20 – Quarterfinals
6:00 p.m. – Match One: (4) North Dakota State (19-11) vs. (5) South Dakota (14-15)
8:30 p.m. – Match Two: (3) Omaha (17-12) vs. (6) Oral Roberts (14-15)
Saturday, Nov. 21 – Semifinals
6:00 p.m. – Match Three: (1) Denver (25-6) vs. Winner Match One
8:30 p.m. – Match Four: (2) IUPUI (21-9) vs. Winner Match Two
Sunday, Nov. 22 - Championship
3:00 p.m. – Winner Match Three vs. Winner Match Four
(Winner earns The Summit League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament)
All times Central
TELEVISION: All five matches can be seen on television on Altitude or Altitude 2, where available ... Friday's quarterfinals and Saturday's semifinals can also be streamed free on denverpioneers.com and Sunday's final can be seen on ESPN3.com.
THE SERIES: North Dakota State leads the series with South Dakota 48-9 ... The Coyotes handed NDSU its last loss, 3-0, on Oct. 31 in Vermillion ... The Bison defeated USD 3-1 on Oct. 2 in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
BISON IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: North Dakota State is making its eighth Summit League tournament appearance in nine years since joining the league ... The Bison are 8-4 all-time in Summit League tournament play ... NDSU reached the semifinals in 2014 ... The Bison have won The Summit League's postseason tournament three times -- 2008, 2010 and 2011 ... Current players, 6-1 junior middle blocker Emily Minnick (2013) and 6-2 junior middle blocker Emily Miron (2014) have earned all-tournament honors.
BISON IN THE RPI: North Dakota State University was 117th in the seventh RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) released by the NCAA on Nov. 16 ... The Bison were the third-ranked team in the Summit League behind Denver (87) and IUPUI (112) ... Following NDSU were, Oral Roberts (173), Omaha (178), South Dakota (194), SDSU (274), Fort Wayne (277) and Western Illinois (312).
BISON IN THE NCAA STATISTICS: In the NCAA statistics released Nov. 16, North Dakota State collectively ranks 48th in kills (1,482), 54th in digs (1,773), 55th in assists (1,370) and 70th in attacks (3,987) ... Individually, 5-foot-11 outside hitter Jenni Fassbender ranks 76th in kills (392), 78th in attacks (1,106) and 86th in points (438.5).
FASSBENDER REACHES 1,000 KILLS: North Dakota State's Jenni Fassbender, a 5-foot-11 senior from Kaukauna, Wis., became the 22nd NDSU player to reach 1,000 kills in a career midway in set two of the match against Towson (9-4-15) ... Fassbender has 1,322 kills to rank 15th all-time at NDSU ... Fassbender ranks 23rd among NCAA active attack leaders and 31st among kill leaders ... Former Olympian Janet Cobbs (1985-88) is NDSU's all-time kill leader with 2,091.
MILLIGAN REACHES 1,000 DIGS: North Dakota State's Emily Milligan, a 5-foot-5 junior from La Grange, Ill., became the 22nd NDSU player to reach 1,000 digs in a career in set two of the match at Denver (9-29-15) ... Milligan has 1,108 digs to rank 17th all-time ... She has 61 matches with double-figure digs in her career, 15 this season ... Milligan is also fourth all-time in digs per set (3.45) ... Kari Fagnan (2004-07) is NDSU's all-time leader with 2,083 digs.
CLIMBING THE CAREER LADDER: North Dakota State's Jenni Fassbender, Emily Milligan, Monica Claxton, Emily Miron, Emily Minnick and Brianna Rasmusson are climbing the NDSU career statistical ladder ... In addition to 1,000-plus kills, Fassbender is also 7th attack attempts (4,209), 9th in kills per set (3.10 avg), 15th in points per set (3.53 avg), and 17th in solo blocks (58) and points (1,507) ... Fassbender has 69 matches with double-figure kills in her career, 25 this season ... Additionally, Claxton is 9th in assists per set (6.94) and 10th in assists (2,171) ... Miron is 10th with 74 solo blocks ... Minnick is 14th in attack percentage (.300, 778-239-1757) and 19th in solo blocks (53) ... Rasmusson is 12th in assists (1,172).
DOUBLE VISION: North Dakota State has recorded 29 'double-doubles' this season ... Sophomore Brianna Rasmusson leads the way with 12 highlighted by 44 assist, 14 dig performance vs. Omaha (10-3-15) ... Senior Jenni Fassbender and junior Monica Claxton each have eight, and sophomore Mikaela Purnell has notched one.
PURNELL EARNS SUMMIT LEAGUE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR: North Dakota State outside hitter Mikaela Purnell earned her first career Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honor Oct. 12 ... The 5-foot-9 sophomore from Excelsior, Minn., averaged 5.86 digs per set for the week ... Posted 23 digs in win over IPFW and tallied 18 digs vs. IUPUI.
BISON KILL TRACKER
PLAYER (DF 2015/Career) 10+ 15+ 20+ 25+
Jenni Fassbender (25/69) 24 9 2 (7) --
Emily Minnick (12/34) 11 2 -- (2) --
Emily Miron (12/43) 10 1 -- --
Jessica Jorgensen (7/7) 7 -- -- --
Hadley Steffen (2/5) 2 -- -- --
Mikaela Purnell (1/1) 1 -- -- --
Brianna Rasmusson (0/1) -- -- -- --
BISON DIG TRACKER
PLAYER (DF 2015/Career) 10+ 15+ 20+ 25+
Mikaela Purnell (24/33) 24 12 9 1
Emily Milligan (15/61) 15 6 1 (11) -- (2)
Brianna Rasmusson (12/21) 12 2 1 --
Jenni Fassbender (9/31) 9 1 -- --
Monica Claxton (9/20) 9 -- -- --
Morgan Samec (2/2) 2 -- -- --
Hadley Steffen (0/9) -- -- (1) --
BISON DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRACKER
PLAYER (2015/Career) Kills/Digs Assists/Digs
Brianna Rasmusson (12/21) -- 12
Jenni Fassbender (8/23) 8 --
Monica Claxton (8/19) -- 8
Mikaela Purnell (1/1) 1 --
Hadley Steffen (0/1) -- --
BISON PRE-LEAGUE ALL-TOURNEY SELECTIONS: North Dakota State's Jenni Fassbender, Brianna Rasmusson, Emily Minnick, Mikaela Purnell and Emily Milligan earned all-tournament honors during the first four weeks ... Minnick and Milligan were named to the San Francisco Challenge all-tourney team on Sept. 18-19 ... Minnick averaged 2.25 kills per set, hit .286 and averaged 1.00 bps in three matches ... Milligan averaged 3.75 dps, had two service aces and added a pair of assists ... Fassbender and Purnell were selected to Minnesota's Diet Coke Classic all-tournament team on Sept. 11-12 ... Fassbender averaged 3.00 kills and hit .245 in three matches ... Purnell came up with a career-high 24 digs in the 3-1 win over UCF (9-11-15) ... She averaged 3.67 dps, hit .175 and added four assists and a pair of aces ... Fassbender averaged 3.75 kills and hit .208 in three matches at NDSU's Baymont Inn & Suites Classic on Sept. 4-5 ... Fassbender averaged 2.75 dps, and added six blocks and three service aces ... Minnick hit .321 with 28 points, 25 kills and five blocks to join Fassbender on the all-Classic team ... Fassbender and Rasmusson led the Bison at Missouri's Tiger Invitational on Aug. 28-29 ... Fassbender averaged 3.64 kills, hit .221 and added 17 digs and four blocks ... Rasmusson hit .280 with three service aces, and averaged 7.64 assists and 1.71 digs per set in three matches.
NDSU PICKED THIRD IN SUMMIT LEAGUE: North Dakota State was picked third in The Summit League Volleyball Preseason Poll voted on by the league's head coaches ... Defending champion Denver was selected as the favorite to win the 2015 volleyball crown as the Pioneers collected seven first-place votes and 63 total points in the poll ... The top six regular-season finishers will qualify for The Summit League Volleyball Championship, held in Denver, Colo., Nov. 20-22.
2015 Summit League Volleyball Preseason Poll
Rk Team Pts (1st) 2014 Record
1. Denver 63 (7) 27-7 (13-3)
2. IUPUI 57 (2) 20-13 (13-3)
3. North Dakota State 47 15-17 (8-8)
4. Oral Roberts 42 15-15 (9-7)
5. South Dakota 36 19-12 (12-4)
6. Omaha 28 14-19 (6-10)
6. IPFW 28 13-20 (7-9)
8. South Dakota State 12 6-27 (0-16)
9. Western Illinois 11 6-23 (4-12)
SUMMER IN NICARAGUA: The North Dakota State University volleyball team went on a foreign tour to Nicaragua from June 3-13, experiencing a blend of competition, community service and recreational activities on the trip ... The Bison played four matches against a combination of the Nicaraguan national team and junior national team in three different cities – Managua, Granada and San Juan del Sur ... Student-athletes also volunteered their time with a variety of community service options that included youth volleyball clinics, a mobile library and teaching English to Nicaraguan youth ... When not on the court or volunteering their time, the Bison women also had numerous opportunities to sightsee and experience various aspects of the Nicaraguan culture ... "This was such a great opportunity for our program, and I want to thank NDSU and everyone that made this possible," said NDSU head coach Kari Thompson ... "Our student-athletes had a once-in-a-lifetime experience playing against some great competition, experiencing the Nicaraguan culture and doing some community outreach." ... "Returning 14 players from last year, this also provided us with some great team building time and perfect start to the summer and off-season for us," added Thompson ... NCAA volleyball teams are permitted to take a foreign tour no more than every four years. Teams are allowed 10 extra practices to prepare at home before departure.
MAKING THE GRADE: The North Dakota State University volleyball team was honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2014-15 season ... The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale ... The Bison received the award for the third consecutive year and for the 15th time overall.
THE COACH: Kari Thompson (Green Bay, 2003) has a 88-79 record in her fifth full season as head coach at North Dakota State ... After joining the Bison as an assistant coach in 2006, she was named interim head coach October 2010 and became the 11th head coach in program history in January 2011 ... She guided the Bison to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011 ... Thompson was a 2010 recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association's "Thirty Under 30" award recognizing the top young coaches in the country ... She was a three-year letterwinner at Green Bay, stayed one year as a volunteer assistant with the Phoenix, and spent two years as a graduate assistant for volleyball operations at Alabama before coming to NDSU in 2006.
#SummitVB Championships Page
#SummitVB Championships Bracket.pdf
THIS WEEK: No. 4-seed North Dakota State (19-11, 10-6 Summit League) is scheduled to open The Summit League Tournament play against the University of South Dakota (14-15, 8-8 SL) at 6 p.m. Central Friday, Nov. 20, at the University of Denver's Hamilton Gymnasium ... The NDSU-USD winner is scheduled to play host and top-seeded Denver (25-6, 13-3 SL) at 6 p.m. Central Saturday, Nov. 21 ... North Dakota State won its last four matches in a row and nine of the last 11 to earn the No. 4 seed ... NDSU is 5-8 in road matches and 6-0 at neutral sites this season ... South Dakota is 3-9 in away matches and 6-3 at neutral sites.
The Summit League Volleyball Championship Schedule
Friday, Nov. 20 – Quarterfinals
6:00 p.m. – Match One: (4) North Dakota State (19-11) vs. (5) South Dakota (14-15)
8:30 p.m. – Match Two: (3) Omaha (17-12) vs. (6) Oral Roberts (14-15)
Saturday, Nov. 21 – Semifinals
6:00 p.m. – Match Three: (1) Denver (25-6) vs. Winner Match One
8:30 p.m. – Match Four: (2) IUPUI (21-9) vs. Winner Match Two
Sunday, Nov. 22 - Championship
3:00 p.m. – Winner Match Three vs. Winner Match Four
(Winner earns The Summit League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament)
All times Central
TELEVISION: All five matches can be seen on television on Altitude or Altitude 2, where available ... Friday's quarterfinals and Saturday's semifinals can also be streamed free on denverpioneers.com and Sunday's final can be seen on ESPN3.com.
THE SERIES: North Dakota State leads the series with South Dakota 48-9 ... The Coyotes handed NDSU its last loss, 3-0, on Oct. 31 in Vermillion ... The Bison defeated USD 3-1 on Oct. 2 in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
BISON IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: North Dakota State is making its eighth Summit League tournament appearance in nine years since joining the league ... The Bison are 8-4 all-time in Summit League tournament play ... NDSU reached the semifinals in 2014 ... The Bison have won The Summit League's postseason tournament three times -- 2008, 2010 and 2011 ... Current players, 6-1 junior middle blocker Emily Minnick (2013) and 6-2 junior middle blocker Emily Miron (2014) have earned all-tournament honors.
BISON IN THE RPI: North Dakota State University was 117th in the seventh RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) released by the NCAA on Nov. 16 ... The Bison were the third-ranked team in the Summit League behind Denver (87) and IUPUI (112) ... Following NDSU were, Oral Roberts (173), Omaha (178), South Dakota (194), SDSU (274), Fort Wayne (277) and Western Illinois (312).
BISON IN THE NCAA STATISTICS: In the NCAA statistics released Nov. 16, North Dakota State collectively ranks 48th in kills (1,482), 54th in digs (1,773), 55th in assists (1,370) and 70th in attacks (3,987) ... Individually, 5-foot-11 outside hitter Jenni Fassbender ranks 76th in kills (392), 78th in attacks (1,106) and 86th in points (438.5).
FASSBENDER REACHES 1,000 KILLS: North Dakota State's Jenni Fassbender, a 5-foot-11 senior from Kaukauna, Wis., became the 22nd NDSU player to reach 1,000 kills in a career midway in set two of the match against Towson (9-4-15) ... Fassbender has 1,322 kills to rank 15th all-time at NDSU ... Fassbender ranks 23rd among NCAA active attack leaders and 31st among kill leaders ... Former Olympian Janet Cobbs (1985-88) is NDSU's all-time kill leader with 2,091.
MILLIGAN REACHES 1,000 DIGS: North Dakota State's Emily Milligan, a 5-foot-5 junior from La Grange, Ill., became the 22nd NDSU player to reach 1,000 digs in a career in set two of the match at Denver (9-29-15) ... Milligan has 1,108 digs to rank 17th all-time ... She has 61 matches with double-figure digs in her career, 15 this season ... Milligan is also fourth all-time in digs per set (3.45) ... Kari Fagnan (2004-07) is NDSU's all-time leader with 2,083 digs.
CLIMBING THE CAREER LADDER: North Dakota State's Jenni Fassbender, Emily Milligan, Monica Claxton, Emily Miron, Emily Minnick and Brianna Rasmusson are climbing the NDSU career statistical ladder ... In addition to 1,000-plus kills, Fassbender is also 7th attack attempts (4,209), 9th in kills per set (3.10 avg), 15th in points per set (3.53 avg), and 17th in solo blocks (58) and points (1,507) ... Fassbender has 69 matches with double-figure kills in her career, 25 this season ... Additionally, Claxton is 9th in assists per set (6.94) and 10th in assists (2,171) ... Miron is 10th with 74 solo blocks ... Minnick is 14th in attack percentage (.300, 778-239-1757) and 19th in solo blocks (53) ... Rasmusson is 12th in assists (1,172).
DOUBLE VISION: North Dakota State has recorded 29 'double-doubles' this season ... Sophomore Brianna Rasmusson leads the way with 12 highlighted by 44 assist, 14 dig performance vs. Omaha (10-3-15) ... Senior Jenni Fassbender and junior Monica Claxton each have eight, and sophomore Mikaela Purnell has notched one.
PURNELL EARNS SUMMIT LEAGUE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR: North Dakota State outside hitter Mikaela Purnell earned her first career Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honor Oct. 12 ... The 5-foot-9 sophomore from Excelsior, Minn., averaged 5.86 digs per set for the week ... Posted 23 digs in win over IPFW and tallied 18 digs vs. IUPUI.
BISON KILL TRACKER
PLAYER (DF 2015/Career) 10+ 15+ 20+ 25+
Jenni Fassbender (25/69) 24 9 2 (7) --
Emily Minnick (12/34) 11 2 -- (2) --
Emily Miron (12/43) 10 1 -- --
Jessica Jorgensen (7/7) 7 -- -- --
Hadley Steffen (2/5) 2 -- -- --
Mikaela Purnell (1/1) 1 -- -- --
Brianna Rasmusson (0/1) -- -- -- --
BISON DIG TRACKER
PLAYER (DF 2015/Career) 10+ 15+ 20+ 25+
Mikaela Purnell (24/33) 24 12 9 1
Emily Milligan (15/61) 15 6 1 (11) -- (2)
Brianna Rasmusson (12/21) 12 2 1 --
Jenni Fassbender (9/31) 9 1 -- --
Monica Claxton (9/20) 9 -- -- --
Morgan Samec (2/2) 2 -- -- --
Hadley Steffen (0/9) -- -- (1) --
BISON DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRACKER
PLAYER (2015/Career) Kills/Digs Assists/Digs
Brianna Rasmusson (12/21) -- 12
Jenni Fassbender (8/23) 8 --
Monica Claxton (8/19) -- 8
Mikaela Purnell (1/1) 1 --
Hadley Steffen (0/1) -- --
BISON PRE-LEAGUE ALL-TOURNEY SELECTIONS: North Dakota State's Jenni Fassbender, Brianna Rasmusson, Emily Minnick, Mikaela Purnell and Emily Milligan earned all-tournament honors during the first four weeks ... Minnick and Milligan were named to the San Francisco Challenge all-tourney team on Sept. 18-19 ... Minnick averaged 2.25 kills per set, hit .286 and averaged 1.00 bps in three matches ... Milligan averaged 3.75 dps, had two service aces and added a pair of assists ... Fassbender and Purnell were selected to Minnesota's Diet Coke Classic all-tournament team on Sept. 11-12 ... Fassbender averaged 3.00 kills and hit .245 in three matches ... Purnell came up with a career-high 24 digs in the 3-1 win over UCF (9-11-15) ... She averaged 3.67 dps, hit .175 and added four assists and a pair of aces ... Fassbender averaged 3.75 kills and hit .208 in three matches at NDSU's Baymont Inn & Suites Classic on Sept. 4-5 ... Fassbender averaged 2.75 dps, and added six blocks and three service aces ... Minnick hit .321 with 28 points, 25 kills and five blocks to join Fassbender on the all-Classic team ... Fassbender and Rasmusson led the Bison at Missouri's Tiger Invitational on Aug. 28-29 ... Fassbender averaged 3.64 kills, hit .221 and added 17 digs and four blocks ... Rasmusson hit .280 with three service aces, and averaged 7.64 assists and 1.71 digs per set in three matches.
NDSU PICKED THIRD IN SUMMIT LEAGUE: North Dakota State was picked third in The Summit League Volleyball Preseason Poll voted on by the league's head coaches ... Defending champion Denver was selected as the favorite to win the 2015 volleyball crown as the Pioneers collected seven first-place votes and 63 total points in the poll ... The top six regular-season finishers will qualify for The Summit League Volleyball Championship, held in Denver, Colo., Nov. 20-22.
2015 Summit League Volleyball Preseason Poll
Rk Team Pts (1st) 2014 Record
1. Denver 63 (7) 27-7 (13-3)
2. IUPUI 57 (2) 20-13 (13-3)
3. North Dakota State 47 15-17 (8-8)
4. Oral Roberts 42 15-15 (9-7)
5. South Dakota 36 19-12 (12-4)
6. Omaha 28 14-19 (6-10)
6. IPFW 28 13-20 (7-9)
8. South Dakota State 12 6-27 (0-16)
9. Western Illinois 11 6-23 (4-12)
SUMMER IN NICARAGUA: The North Dakota State University volleyball team went on a foreign tour to Nicaragua from June 3-13, experiencing a blend of competition, community service and recreational activities on the trip ... The Bison played four matches against a combination of the Nicaraguan national team and junior national team in three different cities – Managua, Granada and San Juan del Sur ... Student-athletes also volunteered their time with a variety of community service options that included youth volleyball clinics, a mobile library and teaching English to Nicaraguan youth ... When not on the court or volunteering their time, the Bison women also had numerous opportunities to sightsee and experience various aspects of the Nicaraguan culture ... "This was such a great opportunity for our program, and I want to thank NDSU and everyone that made this possible," said NDSU head coach Kari Thompson ... "Our student-athletes had a once-in-a-lifetime experience playing against some great competition, experiencing the Nicaraguan culture and doing some community outreach." ... "Returning 14 players from last year, this also provided us with some great team building time and perfect start to the summer and off-season for us," added Thompson ... NCAA volleyball teams are permitted to take a foreign tour no more than every four years. Teams are allowed 10 extra practices to prepare at home before departure.
MAKING THE GRADE: The North Dakota State University volleyball team was honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2014-15 season ... The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale ... The Bison received the award for the third consecutive year and for the 15th time overall.
THE COACH: Kari Thompson (Green Bay, 2003) has a 88-79 record in her fifth full season as head coach at North Dakota State ... After joining the Bison as an assistant coach in 2006, she was named interim head coach October 2010 and became the 11th head coach in program history in January 2011 ... She guided the Bison to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011 ... Thompson was a 2010 recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association's "Thirty Under 30" award recognizing the top young coaches in the country ... She was a three-year letterwinner at Green Bay, stayed one year as a volunteer assistant with the Phoenix, and spent two years as a graduate assistant for volleyball operations at Alabama before coming to NDSU in 2006.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's VolleyballSunday, November 16
Sunday, November 16
Friday, November 14
Friday, November 07
