THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (6-4) volleyball team is set to begin Summit League play hosting North Dakota (3-8) on Saturday. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
 
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.
 
PROMOTIONS
The Saturday night match against the Fighting Hawks will have a gold rush theme with fans encouraged to wear gold. The full 2025 volleyball promotional schedule can be found here.
 
TICKETS
General admission tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for youth ages 3-17, and reserved tickets are $15. Match day tickets are sold at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse and are also available at GoBison.com/tickets. Doors open one (1) hour prior to the match. Free parking is available in Visitors Lot E.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU enters the week after dropping its last three matches at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. The Bison wrapped up the three-match road trip falling short against Southern Illinois, 3-1. Lauren Jansen logged her second double-double in the last three matches with a match-best 16 kills and 12 digs, while Cathy Porter also added a double-double with a team-high 18 assists and 10 digs.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE OPENER
NDSU has won each of its last three Summit League openers after picking up a 3-1 win at St. Thomas last season. Under head coach Jennifer Lopez, the Bison 4-4 in Summit League opening matches. This will be the first time NDSU and North Dakota have opened Summit League play against each other.
 
THE SERIES VS. NORTH DAKOTA
This will be the 113th all-time meeting between NDSU and North Dakota dating back to 1966 with the Bison leading the series, 91-21. NDSU is 13-2 against North Dakota in the 15 matchups, including a 3-1 win in the regular season finale last season in Fargo. Arianna Blohm posted 11 kills with a match-best eight blocks and Maddy Dombeck notched a double-double with a match-high 26 assists and 12 digs.
 
THE BBF ADVANTAGE
The Bison played five of their first seven matches at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse to open the season before a three-match trip to Arkansas to close non-conference play. NDSU has taken advantage of the home stretch beginning with a 5-0 mark at home. It marked the third time in Jennifer Lopez era that the Bison have started with a 5-0 record at home. Dating back to last season, the Bison have won their last seven matches at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
 
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 three sweeps in its first 10 matches 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 1.94 aces per set, which ranks 31st in the nation. Baily Randall leads the Bison with 0.50 aces per set, which is slotted second in the Summit League.
 
MIDDLE PRODUCTION
Arianna Blohm leads NDSU with 37.0 total blocks and is averaging 1.03 blocks per set. She's also one of the most efficient offensive players in the lineup with a .317 hitting percentage through 10 matches. Blohm has totaled 73 kills on 167 attempts with only 20 errors this season. Her 73 kills rank third on the team.
 
CONSISTENT START
Lauren Jansen has reached double digits in kills in eight of the first 10 matches this season. She leads the team with 115 total kills and is averaging a team-high 3.19 kills per set. Jansen has contributed two double-doubles in each of the last three matches, including a match-best 16 kills with 12 digs against Southern Illinois.
 
IMPACT FRESHMAN
Rya Borer has been in the starting lineup each of the first 10 matches in her freshman season. She has tallied double digits in digs in nine of the first 10 matches and leads the Bison with a team-best 137 digs. Borer has contributed at least 20 digs in two matches, including a season-best 21 in the win over Oakland.
 
UTILITY PLAYER
After only appearing in two matches primarily as a setter prior to last week, Emily Bruss played in all three matches as an outside hitter against Arkansas State, Arkansas and Southern Illinois. She totaled nine kills, including a career-best seven kills against Arkansas State. 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.
 
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. 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 78 matches played over four seasons, while Blohm has appeared in 65 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 422-112 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 travel to Kansas City on Thursday, Oct. 2. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.