THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (12-7, 6-3 Summit) volleyball team is back on the road this week against Denver (13-8, 5-5 Summit) on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. CT. The Bison finish the trip at Oral Roberts (2-20, 0-10 Summit) on Saturday. First serve is set for 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 snapped a three-match losing streak after rolling past Kansas City, 3-0, in Fargo. Lauren Jansen powered the Bison with a match-high 13 kills to go along with four digs, three blocks and two service aces. She also registered a .480 hitting percentage on 25 attacks with only one error. Cathy Porter posted a match-high 18 assists with eight digs and three service aces. Rya Borer rounded out the top performers with a match-best 11 digs and six assists.
 
THE SERIES VS. DENVER
This will be the 32nd all-time meeting between NDSU and Denver dating back to 1983 with the Pioneers leading the series, 20-11. In their most recent meeting earlier this season, Arianna Blohm posted 10 kills with a .714 hitting percentage to guide NDSU past Denver, 3-0.
 
THE SERIES VS. ORAL ROBERTS
This will be the 41st all-time meeting between NDSU and Oral Roberts dating back to 1982 with the Bison leading the series, 27-13. The Bison are 7-3 over the last 10 meetings with the Golden Eagles, including a 3-2 win in Fargo earlier this season. Lauren Jansen posted a double-double with a match-best 17 kills and 14 digs.
 
ORAL ROBERTS CONNECTIONS
Sadie Johnson is the younger sister of Sophie Johnson, who is a graduate student defensive specialist for Oral Roberts. Sophie started her career at Southwest Minnesota State with a stop at South Dakota State last season.
 
LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS
The Bison made their first starting lineup adjustment of the season against Kansas City last week. Zoe John made her first start as a Bison at outside hitter, while Cathy Porter also made her first career start at setter.
 
THE BBF ADVANTAGE
The Bison have notched a 9-1 record at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse this season. NDSU won each of its first eight matches before falling short against South Dakota. It marked the best start to a home schedule since the 2020 spring season.
 
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 six total 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 1.86 aces per set, which ranks 31st in the nation. Baily Randall leads the Bison with 0.43 aces per set, which is slotted fourth in the Summit League.
 
MIDDLE PRODUCTION
Arianna Blohm leads NDSU with 68.0 total blocks and is averaging 0.99 blocks per set, which ranks seventh in the Summit League. She's also one of the most efficient offensive players in the lineup with a team-best .309 hitting percentage. Blohm has totaled 137 kills on 311 attempts with only 41 errors this season. Her 137 kills rank third on the team.
 
CONSISTENT START
Lauren Jansen has reached double digits in kills in 15 matches and leads the Bison with 230 kills, which ranks tied for sixth in the Summit League. She is also positioned in fifth in the league with a team-best 3.33 kills per set.
 
IMPACT FRESHMAN
Rya Borer has been in the starting lineup each of the first 19 matches in her freshman season. She has posted double digits in digs in 15 matches and has totaled a team-high 263 digs, which ranks fourth in the Summit League. She is also slotted second in the league averaging a team-high 3.93 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 87 matches played over four seasons, while Blohm has appeared in 74 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 be back in action hosting South Dakota State on Thursday, Nov. 6. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.