Bison Volleyball Opens Summit League Play at St. Thomas and Western Illinois

Thursday, September 22

St. Paul, Minn.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

St. Thomas

Photo by: Zachary Lucy

Bison Volleyball Opens Summit League Play at St. Thomas and Western Illinois

9/20/2022 1:51:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Live Stats at UST Live Video at UST Live Stats at WIU Live Video at WIU NDSU Notes

THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (7-5) volleyball team is set begin Summit League play at St. Thomas (2-10) on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Bison will conclude the road swing at Western Illinois (4-8) on Saturday. First serve is set for 11 a.m.

MATCH COVERAGE
Live statistics and video will be available on TommieSports.com for the match at St. Thomas. The match at Western Illinois will also feature live statistics and have live video available on Leatherneck All-Access.

LAST TIME OUT
NDSU dropped a 3-0 decision against East Tennessee State at the Stacheville Challenge. Syra Tanchin led the way for the Bison with a team-high 10 kills, while Michelle Glover added eight kills with a .538 hitting percentage. Kelley Johnson handed out a team-best 21 assists and Logan O'Brien totaled a match-best 16 digs.

HEAT CHECK
Through the first 12 matches of the season, the Bison rank first in the Summit League and 33rd in the nation in total kills with 626. NDSU also paces the conference in kills per set with 13.61. The Bison have connected on 60 or more kills in five matches, including a season-high 70 against Chicago State, Central Michigan and Austin Peay.

THE DYNAMIC DUO
Syra Tanchin and Ali Hinze have each surpassed the 100-kill mark for the season. Tanchin paces the Bison with a team-high 157 kills and is positioned third in the Summit League. Hinze is slotted seventh in the conference with 136 kills and is averaging 3.24 per set.

BALL MOVEMENT
The Bison lead the Summit League in total assists (572) and assists per set (12.43). Kelley Johnson leads the way for NDSU with a team-high 460 assists, which ranks third in the Summit League and 24th in the nation. She is also positioned third in the conference in assists per set with 10.00.

CHASING DOWN 2K
Kelley Johnson has handed out a team-high 460 assists this season and has increased her career total to 1,974 over four seasons. She currently ranks 12th on the NDSU all-time assists list and is 26 assists away from reaching 2,000 career assists.

900 AND COUNTING
Syra Tanchin tallied a team-high 37 kills last weekend at the Stacheville Challenge and surpassed the 900 career kills mark. She has connected on 919 kills over four seasons and ranks 29th on the NDSU all-time kills list.

A FACTOR ON BOTH ENDS
Michelle Glover has registered a team-best .415 hitting percentage, which leads the Summit League and ranks 15th in the nation. She is also positioned ninth in the Summit League in total blocks with 44.0. Glover has posted five or more blocks in five matches, including a season-high six at Southeast Missouri State.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Senior outside hitter Syra Tanchin and junior outside hitter Ali Hinze were named to the Summit League Players to Watch List on Wednesday. Hinze ranked fifth in the Summit League in kills with a career-high 370 and kills per set with 3.43 last season. On the defensive end, Hinze contributed a career-best 291 digs and averaged 2.67 digs per set. Tanchin also posted a career-high 370 kills last season and averaged 3.36 kills per set, which ranked seventh in the Summit League. The St. Michael, Minn., native added in a career-best 30 total blocks with 83 digs on the defensive side.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
NDSU was picked to finish seventh in the Summit League Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. Denver earned the top spot with 75 total points and six first place votes. South Dakota was picked second with 74 total points and Omaha rounded out the top three with 68 total points in third place.

TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS IN THE CLASSROOM
NDSU earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 10th straight year in 2021-22. 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. NDSU notched a 3.56 GPA in the spring semester and a 3.63 cumulative GPA last year.

NEW TO THE SQUAD
The Bison added five newcomers to the roster in 2022, including three freshman: Baily Randall, Nora Raasch and Ally Barth.

NDSU also added transfers Eke Denessen and Logan O'Brien. Denessen spent the last two seasons at South Florida and appeared in 24 matches with 13 starts in 2021. O'Brien appeared in 49 matches and totaled 201 digs over two seasons at North Florida.

PLENTY OF DEPTH IN THE LINEUP
NDSU enters 2022 with 10 players returning from last season, including four seniors: Syra Tanchin, Michelle Glover, Ava Schmoll and Kelley Johnson. The Bison also boast plenty of experience with four players having appeared in 60 or more career matches. Glover has played in the most career matches among active Bison players with 72, including two seasons (46 matches) at Illinois-Chicago.

THE SERIES VS. ST. THOMAS
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between NDSU and St. Thomas with the Bison leading the series that dates back to 1983, 4-0. In their most recent meeting last season, NDSU rolled past St. Thomas, 3-0, at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. Ali Hinze just missed a double-double with nine kills and nine digs, while Alex Boling added nine kills, five blocks and one ace.

THE SERIES VS. WESTERN ILLINOIS
This will be the 32nd matchup between NDSU and Western Illinois in a series that dates back to 2005. The Bison, who have won 16 of the last 17 meetings, lead the all-time series, 26-5. In their most recent meeting last season, NDSU topped Western Illinois, 3-1, at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. Ali Hinze notched double-double with 19 kills and 14 digs, while Syra Tanchin added a match-high 20 kills.

NEXT UP
NDSU will open up a four match homestand beginning with South Dakota on Tuesday, Sept. 27. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.