THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (16-9, 10-5 Summit) volleyball team wraps up regular season play at South Dakota (19-8, 11-4 Summit) on Tuesday night. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
MATCH COVERAGE
GoBison.com: The contest 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 overcame an early two-set deficit to complete the 3-2 come-from-behind win over Omaha on Saturday. Baily Randall totaled a career-high 17 kills with four digs and two service aces, while Arianna Blohm notched 13 kills with four blocks.
 
THE SERIES VS. SOUTH DAKOTA
This will be the 81st all-time meeting with South Dakota dating back to 1978 with the Bison leading the series, 53-27. The Coyotes have won each of the last three meetings, including a 3-1 win in Fargo earlier this season. Baily Randall paced the Bison with a team-high 14 kills to go along with a .385 hitting percentage and nine digs.
 
LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS
Zoe John and Cathy Porter have each been in the starting lineup over the last seven matches for the Bison. NDSU used the same starting lineup for the first 18 matches prior to making the switch. The Bison are 5-2 over the last seven matches with John and Porter in the lineup.
 
THE BBF ADVANTAGE
The Bison closed out their home schedule with an 11-2 mark at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse this season. It marks the most home wins in the NDSU Division I era and most since the 2003 season. NDSU won each of its first eight matches before falling short against South Dakota on Oct. 21. 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 eight 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 1.79 aces per set, which ranks 34th in the nation. Baily Randall leads the Bison with 0.42 aces per set, which is slotted fourth in the Summit League.
 
OFFENSIVE BOOST
Since entering the starting lineup against Kansas City on Oct. 25, Zoe John has provided an offensive boost totaling 61 kills and averaging 2.35 per set. Her 61 total kills rank third on the team over that span.
 
MIDDLE PRODUCTION
Arianna Blohm leads NDSU with 92.0 total blocks and is averaging 1.00 blocks per set. She's also one of the most efficient offensive players in the lineup with a team-best .331 hitting percentage. Blohm has totaled 192 kills on 417 attempts with only 54 errors this season. Her 192 kills rank third on the team.
 
JANSEN BY THE NUMBERS
Lauren Jansen has totaled a career-best 291 kills so far this season and averaging a career-high 3.16 kills per set. Her 3.16 kills per set rank sixth in the Summit League. Jansen has logged a team-high 16 matches in double digits in kills with a team-best five double-doubles this season.
 
IMPACT FRESHMAN
Rya Borer has been in the starting lineup for all 25 matches in her freshman season. She has posted double digits in digs in 21 matches and has totaled a team-high 351 digs, which ranks second in the Summit League. She is also slotted second in the league averaging a team-high 3.90 digs per set.
 
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 93 matches played over four seasons, while Blohm has appeared in 80 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 four sophomores (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 427-113 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 has clinched a spot in the Summit League Tournament on Nov. 23-25 in Brookings, S.D. The tournament is hosted by South Dakota State at First Bank & Trust Arena. The full bracket will be announced following the completion of the Tuesday night matches.