THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (11-4, 5-0 Summit) volleyball team travels to South Dakota State (11-3, 5-0 Summit) on Thursday night in a matchup of the top two teams in the Summit League. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at First Bank & Trust Arena. The Bison will finish out the trip at St. Thomas (10-6, 3-2 Summit) on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
 
MATCH COVERAGE
GoBison.com: Both contests will feature live statistics and will be streamed on the Summit League Network for subscribers. Links to live stats, live video and audio can be found at GoBison.com/coverage.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU improved to 5-0 in Summit League play with a 3-0 win over Denver in Fargo. Arianna Blohm led the way with 10 kills to go along with a .714 hitting percentage and no errors. She also tallied a match-best six blocks with two digs on the defensive side. Lauren Jansen totaled a match-high 11 kills, while Maddy Dombeck handed out a match-best 21 assists with six digs.
 
THE SERIES VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
This will be the 110th all-time meeting between NDSU and South Dakota State dating back to 1974 with the Bison leading the series, 83-26. The two teams have split each of the last four matchups with the Jackrabbits most recently picking up a 3-0 win in Brookings last season. Arianna Blohm paced the Bison with a team-best seven kills and four total blocks.
 
THE SERIES VS. ST. THOMAS
This will be the 11th all-time meeting between NDSU and St. Thomas dating back to 1983 with the Bison leading the series, 9-1. NDSU has won each of the last two matchups, including a 3-2 win in Fargo last season. Arianna Blohm led the Bison with 11 kills and a match-high eight blocks.
 
MORE WEEKLY AWARDS
Arianna Blohm was tabbed the Summit League Defensive Peak Performer of the Week for the first time in her career on Tuesday. Blohm led the Bison with a team-high 10 total blocks and averaged a team-best 1.25 per set. She also added 19 total kills with a .444 hitting percentage with only three errors on the offensive side. It marked the second straight week NDSU has won the weekly awards after Lauren Jansen (offensive) and Rya Borer (defensive) swept the honors last week.
 
SOLID START TO SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY
For the second time in the last four seasons, the Bison have opened Summit League play with a 5-0 record. NDSU has not started 6-0 in league play since 2009 when the Bison finished the season with an 18-0 mark in Summit League play. The Bison are also currently on a season-best five-match win streak, the longest win streak since the 2023 season.
 
THE BBF ADVANTAGE
The Bison have started the season with a 8-0 mark at home, including back-to-back wins over Oral Roberts and Denver last week. It marks their best start to a home schedule since winning the first eight matches during the 2020 spring season. NDSU has also won each of its last 10 matches at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse dating back to last season, which ranks tied for the eighth-longest streak in NCAA Division I, joining Michigan State, UConn, North Carolina A&T and Jackson State.
 
BRING OUT THE BROOMS
The Bison started the season with back-to-back sweeps after topping Bowling Green, 3-0, and Temple, 3-0. It marked the first time since 2011 that NDSU opened the season with back-to-back sweeps. NDSU has recorded five sweeps so far this season.
 
LOCKED IN FROM THE SERVICE LINE
NDSU was one of the most effective teams in the Summit League at the service line last season after leading the league with 1.65 service aces per set. The Bison have carried that into this season and currently rank second in the Summit League with 1.82 aces per set, which ranks 42nd in the nation. Baily Randall leads the Bison with 0.46 aces per set, which is slotted second in the Summit League.
 
MIDDLE PRODUCTION
Arianna Blohm leads NDSU with 62.0 total blocks and is averaging 1.11 blocks per set, which ranks fourth in the Summit League. She's also one of the most efficient offensive players in the lineup with a team-best .332 hitting percentage. Blohm has totaled 119 kills on 262 attempts with only 32 errors this season. Her 119 kills rank third on the team.
 
CONSISTENT START
Lauren Jansen has reached double digits in kills in each of the last six matches and leads the Bison with 190 kills, which ranks fifth in the Summit League. She is also positioned in fifth in the league with a team-best 3.39 kills per set. Jansen has logged three double-doubles over the last six matches, including 17 kills with 14 digs in the win over Oral Roberts.
 
IMPACT FRESHMAN
Rya Borer has been in the starting lineup each of the first 15 matches in her freshman season. She has posted double digits in digs in 12 matches and has totaled a team-high 210 digs, which ranks fifth in the Summit League. She is also slotted second in the league averaging a team-high 3.75 digs per set.
 
UTILITY PLAYER
After only appearing in two matches primarily as a setter against Montana and Idaho, Emily Bruss has also checked in as an outside hitter. She has contributed 12 kills and notched her first career double-double with 20 assists to go along with 11 digs in the win at Kansas City. Bruss appeared in 18 matches in her freshman season at setter and has totaled 278 career assists, which ranks second on the team among active players on the roster.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Senior middle blocker Ally Barth and junior outside hitter Lauren Jansen were selected to the Summit League Players to Watch list. Entering the 2025 season, Barth has posted 190 blocks over the last two seasons and has tallied 389 kills. Jansen has tallied 371 kills and is averaging 2.41 kills per set over two seasons. The Plainfield, Ill., native has also contributed 49 service aces, including a career-best and team-high 34 last season.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Bison were picked to finish sixth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll and garnered 32 points. South Dakota State earned the top spot with 62 points and six first place votes.
 
RUNNING THE OFFENSE
The Bison return 61.9 percent of their assist production from last season after Maddy Dombeck and Emily Bruss combined for 692 assists in their freshman season. Dombeck handed out a team-best 464 assists over 26 matches last season, while Bruss added 228 over 18 matches.
 
EXPERIENCE IN THE LINEUP
NDSU returns seven starters from last season: Baily Randall, Arianna Blohm, Maddy Dombeck, Emma Tallman, Lauren Jansen, Emily Bruss and Ally Barth. Barth leads the team with 83 matches played over four seasons, while Blohm has appeared in 70 matches over three seasons.
 
PORTAL ADDITIONS
The Bison added three players in the offseason through the transfer portal. Cathy Porter joined the Bison after two seasons at Hillsborough Community College and totaled 550 assists over 43 matches. Abi Banitt joined the Bison after two seasons at SIUE. She posted a team-high 355 digs in her freshman season, which ranked ninth in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). Zoe John joined the Bison after one season at Pacific and appeared in 23 matches with 96 kills.
 
YOUNG BISON
The Bison have six newcomers on the roster this season, including three true freshmen: Natasha Kidd, Abby Carpenter and Rya Borer. The roster is constructed of 56 percent underclassman with three freshman, one redshirt freshman (Sadie Johnson) and five sophomores (Tanith Roush, Maddy Dombeck, Layla Haritatos, Emily Bruss and Zoe John).
 
LOOKING BACK AT THE 2024 SEASON
The Bison posted a 12-14 (8-8 Summit) overall record last season. NDSU made its third straight appearance in the Summit League Championship before falling short against Denver in the first round. It marked the first time in three seasons that the Bison didn't advance to at least the semifinal round.
 
BIG SHOES TO FILL
NDSU has been working to replace two of the most successful players in program history each of the last two seasons. Kelley Johnson wrapped up her career in 2023 and finished with the most assists in the NDSU Division I era with 4,019, which ranked sixth all-time in Bison history. She was a two-time Summit League Setter of the Year and two-time All-Summit League First Team selection. Ali Hinze finished her career last season and totaled the most kills in the NDSU Division I era with 1,767, which ranked fifth in Bison history. Hinze earned All-Summit League honors all five seasons, including being named to the first team in 2022 and 2023.
 
THIS IS OUR HOUSE
The Bison have called Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse home since 1978 and have notched a 425-112 overall record at home during that span. NDSU picked up its 400th win at the BBF after sweeping Kansas City, 3-0, on Oct. 1, 2022.
 
TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS IN THE CLASSROOM
NDSU earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 13th straight year in 2024-25. The award recognizes collegiate and high school programs across the country that maintained a year-long grade-point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. The Bison registered a 3.63 cumulative GPA last season.
 
UP NEXT
NDSU will return home against South Dakota on Tuesday, Oct. 21. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.