NDSU Volleyball Release (8-29-18).pdf

North Dakota State (1-2) is scheduled to face No. 3-ranked and host Minnesota (2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, in the Diet Coke Classic at Maturi Pavalion in Minneapolis ... On Saturday, Sept. 1, the Bison are scheduled to face Arkansas (1-1) at noon and Georgia Southern (0-3) ... All three matches at the Diet Coke Classic will be available on BTN Plus on the BTN2Go app ... Live stats will be available at GopherSports.com ... North Dakota State is scheduled to host Western Carolina (3-1) at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 2, at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse ... The Catamounts play at the UND Classic on Friday and Saturday ... Sunday is a "White Out" at the BBF.

U. of Minnesota Diet Coke Classic
Maturi Pavalion, Minneapolis, Minn.
Friday, Aug. 31
7 p.m. -- Bison at #3 Minnesota (2-0) / BTN Plus
Saturday, Sept. 1
12 p.m. -- Bison vs. Arkansas (1-1) / BTN Plus
4:30 p.m. -- Bison vs. Georgia Southern (0-3) / BTN Plus

COMING SOON: North Dakota State is scheduled to travel to Muncie, Ind., and the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge on Sept. 7-8 ... 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.

THE SERIES: This will be the 15th meeting with Minnesota, members of the Big Ten Conference ... The Gophers lead the series 13-1 including a 3-0 win over NDSU at the 2015 Diet Coke Classic ... This will be the first meeting with Arkansas, members of the Southeastern Conference ... This will be the second meeting with Georgia Southern, members of the Sun Belt Conference ... The Eagles defeated NDSU 3-0 at the GSU tournament  ... This will be the first meeting with Western Carolina, members of the Southern Conference.

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 ... Fans can hear updates from head coach Jennifer Lopez weekly on "The BrakeDown" on Bison 1660 AM during the season.

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 KILL TRACKER
PLAYER (DF 2018/Career)    10+    15+    20+    25+    
McKenzie Burke (1/14)        1    1    --    --
Emily Halverson (1/2)        1    --    --    --
Allie Mauch (1/2)        1    --    --    --
Bella Lien (--/3)        --    --    --    --
Alex Erickson (--/2)        --    --    --    --

BISON DIG TRACKER
PLAYER (DF 2018/Career)    10+    15+    20+    25+    30+
Abbi Klos (3/18)        3    --    -- (1)    -- (1)    -- (1)
Alexis Bachmeier (2/2)        2    1    1 (1)    --    --    
Kaylee Hanger (2/2)        2    --    --    --    --    
McKenzie Burke (1/9)        1    --    --    --    --

BISON DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRACKER
PLAYER (2018/Career)    Kills/Digs    Assists/Digs
Kalli Heger (2/2)    --    2
McKenzie Burke (1/4)    1    --

BISON NOTEBOOK: Sophomore right side hitter Alexis Bachmeier earned Buffalo Blue & White Classic all-tournament honors during the first weekend ... Career bests were all-around Bachmeier, who hit . 254 (24-6-71) with 38 digs, six blocks, five aces and five assists. ... A pair of freshman, setter Kalli Hegerle and defensive specialist/libero Kaylee Hanger, both made their first collegiate starts ... Sophomore  middle hitters Bella Lien (1.18 b/s) and Emily Halverson (0.91 b/s), along with Hegerle (0.82 b/s) made their presence known at the net as the Bison averaged 2.55 team blocks per set compared to 2.00 b/s for opponents.

DOUBLE VISION: North Dakota State has recorded 3 'double-doubles' in 2018 ... Six-foot freshman setter Kalli Hegerle claimed a pair of 'double-doubles' during her first weekend including 35 assists and 11 digs vs. Niagara (8-24-18) ... Senior outside hitter  McKenzie Burke collected 15 kills and 12 digs vs. Seton Hall (8-24-18) and now has four overall.

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 20-11 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.