NDSU Opens Against Seton Hall at Buffalo Blue & White Classic on Aug. 24

Friday, August 24

Buffalo, N.Y.

12 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Seton Hall

Photo by: Daniel Kwon

NDSU Opens Against Seton Hall at Buffalo Blue & White Classic on Aug. 24

8/22/2018 11:36:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

NDSU Volleyball Release (8-22-18).pdf

THIS WEEK: North Dakota State opens the 2018 season on the road at the University of Buffalo Blue & White Classic on Aug. 24-25 in Alumni Arena (6,783) ... NDSU takes on Seton Hall at 11 a.m. (CT) and Niagara University at 3 p.m. CT Friday, Aug. 24 ... The Bison close out Classic play against host Buffalo at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 25 ... The Seton Hall and Niagara matches will be on the UBBulls.com YouTube Channel, while the Buffalo match will be streamed on ESPN+ (new pay service from ESPN) ... Live stats will also be provided at UBBulls.com.

U. of Buffalo Blue & White Classic
Alumni Arena, Buffalo, N.Y.
Friday, Aug. 24
11 a.m. CT - vs. Seton Hall / UBBulls.com YouTube / Live Stats
3 p.m. CT - vs. Niagara / UBBulls.com YouTube / Live Stats
Saturday, Aug. 25
11:30 a.m. CT – at Buffalo / ESPN+ / Live Stats
All times converted to Central Time

THE SERIES: This will be the first meeting with Seton Hall, members of the Big East Conference ... This will be the first meeting with Niagara University, members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ... This will be the first meeting with the University of Buffalo, members of the Mid-American Conference.

COMING SOON: North Dakota State is scheduled to host Western Carolina at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 2, in the 2018 home opener ... The Bison play at the Minnesota's Diet Coke Classic on Aug. 31-Sept. 1 in Minneapolis ... After the Catamounts, it's back on the road ... Eleven of the first 12 matches are away from the Friendly Confines.

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: North Dakota State finished the 2017 regular season with a 10-2 in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse, averaging 762 spectators per match including three crowds over 1,000 ... The Bison have compiled a 380-84 record good for a .819 winning percentage since 1978.

NDSU HEAD COACH JENNIFER LOPEZ ONE OF AVCA's "Top Thirty under 30": North Dakota State head volleyball coach Jennifer Lopez was one of the American Volleyball Coaches Association's 2018 "Thirty Under 30" award recipients ... "I feel honored to be receiving this award and to be given the opportunity every day to do what I love," said Lopez, 27, who is headed into her second season as head coach at her alma mater ... "When I think of what it means to be a Bison, I think of Jennifer as an outstanding example," said Brianna Rasmusson, who was a senior setter on the 2017 NDSU volleyball team.

BURKE, LIEN TABBED AS SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON WATCH LIST: North Dakota State outside hitter McKenzie Burke and middle hitter Bella Lien were named to the Summit League's preseason "Players to Watch List" released Aug. 16 ... Burke, a 5-foot-11 senior from Osceola, Wis., averaged 2.72 kills and 2.36 digs per set last season, while adding 26 aces and 23 blocks ... Burke was named to the 2017 Summit League all-tournament team ... Lien, a 6-2 sophomore from Rogers, Minn., finished third in the league in blocks per set (1.01 bps) ... Lien finished with 149 kills, 101 blocks and 29 digs.

NDSU TIES FOR SIXTH IN SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON COACHES POLL: North Dakota State was tied for sixth in the Summit League volleyball preseason coaches' poll released Aug. 16 ... The Bison were tied with Purdue Fort Wayne with 31 points ... Defending champion Denver (23-6, 12-2 SL) was picked to repeat ... The Pioneers received 7 of 9 first place votes and 63 points overall ... Newcomer North Dakota (30-8, 12-4 Big Sky) was second, receiving the remaining two first place votes and 55 points ... Omaha was third, South Dakota ranked fourth and Oral Roberts came in fifth ... NDSU, Purdue Fort Wayne, South Dakota State and Western Illinois round out the poll.

BISON ON TELEVISION: Four North Dakota State women's volleyball matches will be televised by the BEK Broadcasting Network @BEKSports ... First broadcast is 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3, vs. Western Carolina ... Corey Brooks and Noah Reed will describe the action ... More information can be found at https://www.bektel.com/bbn/.

VOLLEYBALL ON BISON 1660 AM: Five North Dakota State University women's volleyball matches will be broadcast on Bison 1660 AM/92.7 FM this season ... First broadcast will be 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3, when NDSU takes on Western Carolina ... Keith Brake @The_Brakedown is in his third season handling the play-by-play.

BISON AND THE NCAA STATISTICS: In the final 2017 NCAA statistics (12-16-17), North Dakota State was 6th in digs/set (19.02), 13th in opponent hitting percentage (.155) and team attacks/set (39.2) ., and 22nd in aces/set (1.58).

BISON IN THE RPI: North Dakota State was 148th (334 schools) in the final RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) released by the NCAA on Dec. 16 ... The Bison were the third-ranked Summit League team behind Denver (57) and Oral Roberts (106) ... Following NDSU were South Dakota (146), Omaha (225), Fort Wayne (246), Western Illinois (291) and SDSU (318) ... In addition, newcomer North Dakota was 71st as a member of the Big Sky ... The Summit League was 22nd out of 32 conferences/leagues.

BISON KILL TRACKER (returning players)
PLAYER (DF 2017/Career)   10+   15+   20+   25+
McKenzie Burke (13/13)       13   3   --   --
Bella Lien (3/3)       3   --   --   --
Emily Halverson (2/2)       2   --   --   --
Allie Mauch (1/1)       1   --   --   --
Alex Erickson (0/2)       --   --   --   --

BISON DIG TRACKER (returning players)
PLAYER (DF 2017/Career)   10+   15+   20+   25+   30+
Abbi Klos (15/15)       15   4   1   1   1
McKenzie Burke (8/8)       8   1   --   --   --

BISON DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRACKER (returning players)
PLAYER (2017/Career)   Kills/Digs   Assists/Digs
McKenzie Burke (3/3)   3   --

DOUBLE VISION: North Dakota State recorded 22 'double-doubles' in 2017 ... McKenzie Burke notched her first career 'double-double' against Appalachian State (18 kills, 12 digs / 9-9-17) and enters 2018 with three overall.

WIN STREAK: North Dakota State won eight straight matches at one point during the 2017 season before the 3-1 loss to Oral Roberts on Oct. 1 ... It was the longest streak since 2011 when the Bison won 10 in a row ... School record is 29 straight set in 1981.

BA DE YA, DANCING IN SEPTEMBER: North Dakota State went 11-1 in September 2017 including a 6-0 record at home ... The Bison hit .175, averaging 12.23 kills per set over 12 matches and 43 sets ... NDSU had a 104-52 advantage in service aces ... The Bison averaged 18.23 digs per set, 2.37 blocks per set and 1.82 aces per set.

MAKING THE GRADE: The North Dakota State University volleyball team was honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2017-18 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 sixth consecutive year and 18th time overall.

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 nine NCAA Tournaments.

THE COACH: Jennifer Lopez (North Dakota State, 2014) has an 19-9 record including 9-5 in the Summit League in her first season as 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 and officially named head coach Oct. 23, 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.