NDSU Classic Next Up for Bison, Open Against Northern Colorado Sept. 1

Friday, September 1

Fargo, N.D.

6 p.m.

North Dakota State

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Daniel Kwon

NDSU Classic Next Up for Bison, Open Against Northern Colorado Sept. 1

8/30/2017 6:24:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

NDSU Volleyball Release.pdf (8-30-17)

North Dakota State (1-2) is scheduled to host the NDSU Classic presented by Hampton Inn & Doubletree by Hilton on Sept. 1-2 in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse ... The Bison open against Northern Colorado (0-3) at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1 ... NDSU plays San Francisco (1-3) at 10 a.m. and then Florida A&M (0-4) at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2 ... Friday's match will broadcast on Bison 1660 AM with Keith Brake on the call ... First 500 fans will receive NDSU Stadium Cups ... All six matches will be available on GoBison.com/AllAccess.

NDSU Classic presented by Hampton Inn & Doubletree by Hilton
Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse, Fargo, N.D.
Friday, Sept. 1
Northern Colorado (0-3) vs. San Francisco (1-3), Noon Live Stats | Live Video (Pay Per View)
San Francisco vs. Florida A&M (0-4), 3 p.m. Live Stats | Live Video (Pay Per View)
BISON (1-2) at Northern Colorado, 6 p.m. (Stadium Cup Giveaway) Live Stats | Live Video (Pay Per View) | Live Audio
Saturday, Sept. 2
BISON vs. San Francisco, 10 a.m. Live Stats | Live Video (Pay Per View)
Northern Colorado vs. Florida A&M, Noon Live Stats | Live Video (Pay Per View)
BISON vs. Florida A&M, 6 p.m. Live Stats | Live Video (Pay Per View)

TICKET INFORMATION: General admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth ages 3-17, and reserved tickets are $10-12 ... Match day tickets are sold at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse ... Doors open one (1) hour prior to the match

PARKING: For weekday volleyball matches before 4:30 p.m., paid parking is available in Visitors Lot E one block west of the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse ... After 4:30 p..m. weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday, parking is available in lots CF, CFS and SF to the west and north of the fieldhouse.

THE SERIES: This wil be the 48th meeting between NDSU and Northern Colorado, who were long-time North Central Conference rivals ... The Bears defeated the Bison 3-2 in Greeley last season ... NDSU and the University of San Francisco hook up for the second time ... The Dons won 3-1 at the 2015 USF Challenge ... NDSU and Florida A&M meet for the second time ... The Bison defeated the Rattlers 3-0 at the 2009 Florida State Invitational.

BISON RETURN TO THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: North Dakota State returns to the Friendly Confines of the air-conditioned Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse on Sept. 1-2 with the six-match NDSU Classic presented by Hampton Inn & Doubletree by Hilton ... The NDSU Invitational is next, Saturday, Sept. 9 with George Washington and Appalachian State ... NDSU was 7-5 at home in 2016 ... The Bison have compiled a 370-82 record good for a .819 winning percentage since 1978.

BISON CUT SHOTS: North Dakota State setter Brianna Rasmusson was named to the Arizona State Sun Devil Classic all-tournament team ... Rasmusson averaged 9.70 assists and 2.60 digs per set ... She hit .147 with seven aces and five blocks ... Rasmusson had a career-high five service aces in the 3-1 win over Weber State (8-26-17).

BISON AND THE NCAA STATISTICS: In the first NCAA statistics report (8-28-17), North Dakota State was collectively 7th in team attacks (42.50) and 11th in digs (20.30) ... Individually, Brianna Rasmusson was 22nd in service aces (7) and 23rd aces per set (0.70); Mikaela Purnell was 17th in digs per set (6.10), and McKenzie Burke was 4th in attacks per set (14.60) and Erika Gelzinyte (12.70) was 18th.

PURNELL NAMED SUMMIT LEAGUE WEEKLY DEFENSIVE POTW: North Dakota State's Mikaela Purnell was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 28 after averaging 6.10 digs per set at the Arizona State Sun Devil Classic ... She came up with a season-high 26 digs in the 2-1 win against Weber State (8-26-17) ... Purnell earned the honor three times in 2016 and is a five-time winner overall.

GELZINYTE SELECTED AVSR GLOBAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State's Erika Gelzinyte was selected the AVSR Global Player of the Week on Aug. 28 ... Over three matches and 10 sets, Gelzinyte collected 31 kills, 28 digs, three blocks and a pair of aces.

VOLLEYBALL ON BISON 1660 AM: Five North Dakota State University women's volleyball matches will be broadcast on Bison 1660 AM this season starting with the home opener against Northern Colorado at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1 ... Keith Brake @The_Brakedown will begin his second season handling the play-by-play.

BISON ON TELEVISION: Nine North Dakota State University women's volleyball matches will be televised by the BEK Broadcasting Network @BEKSports beginning with the George Washington and Appalachian State matches on Saturuday, Sept. 9 ... Corey Brooks will begin his second season describing the action on the court ... More information can be found at https://www.bektel.com/bbn/.

NDSU PICKED FIFTH IN SUMMIT LEAGUE: North Dakota State was picked North Dakota State was fifth in the Summit League Volleyball Preseason Coach Poll ... NDSU tied for fifth with Omaha with 22 points ... Three-time defending champion Denver was first with 47 points overall and five of a possible eight first place votes ... South Dakota was second with 45 points and received the remaining three first place votes ... Oral Roberts was third with 35 and Fort Wayne was fourth with 33.

PURNELL NAMED TO LEAGUE'S PLAYER TO WATCH LIST: North Dakota State libero/defensive specialist Mikaela Purnell was named to the Summit League's Player to Watch List ... Purnell, a 5-foot-9 junior from Excelsior, Minn. (Minnetonka HS) ranked third nationally, averaging 5.70 digs per set and collected 479 overall last season.

PURNELL PILING UP DIGS: North Dakota State's Mikaela Purnell, a 5-9 senior from Excelsior, Minn., became the 23rd NDSU player to reach 1,000 digs at IUPUI (11-5-16) ... Purnell has 1,149 digs to rank 15th all-time ... She has 57 matches with double-figure digs, including three in 2017 ... Purnell has 23 straight matches with double-figure digs dating back to Sept. 18, 2016 ... Kari Fagnan (2004-07) is NDSU's all-time leader with 2,083 digs.

CLIMBING THE CAREER LADDER: North Dakota State's Brianna Rasmusson and Mikaela Purnell are climbing the NDSU career ladder ... Rasmusson is 9th in assists (2388) and 10th in assists per set (6.45) ... Purnell is 2nd in digs per set (4.37), 15th in digs (1149) and 18th in assists per game (0.46) ... She ranks 23rd among NCAA active leaders in digs per set.

BISON KILL TRACKER
PLAYER (DF 2017/Career)   10+   15+   20+   25+
Erika Gelzinyte (2/4)       2   --   --   --
McKenzie Burke (2/2)       2   --   --   --
Allie Mauch (1/1)       1   --   --   --
Jessica Jorgensen (0/12)       --   --   --   --
Alex Erickson (0/2)       --   --   --   --
Mikaela Purnell (0/1)       --   --   --   --
Brianna Rasmusson (0/1)       --   --   --   --

BISON DIG TRACKER
PLAYER (DF 2017/Career)   10+   15+   20+   25+   30+
Mikaela Purnell (24/57)       3   2   2 (22)   1 (12)   -- (7)
Brianna Rasmusson (13/35)   1   --   -- (2)   -- (1)   --
Abbi Klos (3/3)       1   --   --   --   --
Erika Gelzinyte (1/1)       1   --   --   --   --
McKenzie Burke (1/1)       1   --   --   --   --

BISON DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRACKER
PLAYER (2017/Career)   Kills/Digs   Assists/Digs
Brianna Rasmusson (1/36)   --   1
Erika Gelzinyte (1/1)   1   --
Mikaela Purnell (0/1)   --   --

DOUBLE VISION: North Dakota State has recorded a pair of 'double-doubles' in 2017 ... Brianna Rasmusson led the Bison with 13 'double-doubles' last season ... Rasmusson has 36 in her career including the career-high 56-assist, 25-dig performance at Fort Wayne (11-4-16) ... Erika Gelzinyte had her first NDSU 'double-double' against Weber State (8-26-17).

PURNELL SUMMIT LEAGUE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: North Dakota State libero Mikaela Purnell was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Year as four Bison received all-league honors ... Purnell became the third NDSU player to receive the honor joining Kari Fagnan and two-time winner Kelly Lopez ... Middle blockers Emily Miron and Emily Minnick, along with Purnell were named to the All-Summit League team, while outside hitter Alex Erickson was selected to the Summit League All-Freshmen Team.

PROUD HISTORY: North Dakota State won four straight Summit League regular-season titles from 2008-11 ... NDSU won outright titles with a 16-0 record in 2008 and an 18-0 mark in 2009 ... The Bison have appeared in three of the last eight NCAA Tournaments.

MAKING THE GRADE: The North Dakota State University volleyball team was honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2016-17 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 G.P.A. on a 4.0 scale ... NDSU received the award for the fifth consecutive year and 17th time overall.

THE COACH: Jennifer Lopez (North Dakota State, 2014) has a 1-2 record in her first season as interim head coach at North Dakota State ... After joining the Bison as an assistant coach in 2015, she was named interim head coach in May 2017 ... Lopez was the Summit League Setter of the Year, Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in 2011 as a senior for North Dakota State.