THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State volleyball team (18-8, 11-3 Summit) wraps up its home schedule by hosting Omaha (17-8, 12-3 Summit) Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The Bison will end the week against Denver (16-10, Peak 10-5) on Saturday senior day. The first service is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
MATCH COVERAGE
Both matches will be streamed and feature live stats on GoBison.com.
TICKETS
General admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth ages 3-17, and reserved tickets are $10-12. Game day tickets are sold at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse and are also available at GoBison.com/tickets. Doors open one (1) hour before the game. Free parking is available in visitor park E.
SATURDAY IS SENIOR DAY AT THE BBF
Michelle Glover and Syra Tanchin will be recognized ahead of Saturday’s game against Denver for the senior day.
LAST TIME OUT
Ali Hinze connected on a 19-elimination game to help lead NDSU past North Dakota 3-2 on Saturday night. Kelly Johnson dished out 45 assists with 10 digs and three aces, while Logan O’Brien added a team-record 13 defensive digs. NDSU also landed a total of 14.0 blocks overall with Ally Barth leads the way with a game-best eight.
IN THE MIX
NDSU starts the week in third place in the Summit League standings. South Dakota (24-2, 13-1 Summit) is in first place and has won its last 11 games. Omaha, which has won its last four matches, is in second place.
THERMAL CONTROL
The Bison rank second in the Summit League and rank 27th nationally in eliminations per set with 13.87. The NDSU also paces the conference and ranks 29th in total wins with 1,359. The Bison had 60 or more kills in eight games, including a season-high 70 against Chicago State, the center of the Michigan and Austin Peay.
THE DYNAMIC DUO
Syra Tanchin and Ali Hinze have both passed the 300 kill mark this season. Tanchin is ranked fourth in the Summit League with a team best 343 eliminations, while Hinze ranks fifth with 340. NDSU is the only team in the conference with two different players ranked in the top five.
BALL MOVEMENT
The Bison rank second in the Summit League in assists per set with 12.76. Kelly Johnson pace NDSU with a team record 1,308 assists, which leads the conference and ranks 17th in the nation. She’s dished out 50 or more assists in five appearances this season, including a career-high 58 against Chicago State and Central Michigan.
JOHNSON ENTERS THE TOP 10
Kelly Johnson dished out 34 assists in the win over St. Thomas on Sept. 22 to reach the 2,000 career assist mark. She has now amassed 2,552 assists in four seasons and ranks 10th on the all-time list. Johnson is one of five players to reach the mark in the NDSU Division I era.
TANCHIN JOINS THE 1,000 KILLED CLUB
Syra Tanchin connected on 23 eliminations against North Dakota on October 8 to surpass the 1,000 career elimination mark. She has totaled 1,105 eliminations over four seasons and ranks 22nd on the all-time list. Tanchin is one of eight players to hit the mark in the NDSU Division I era.
A POSTMAN OF BOTH ENDS
Michelle Glover recorded a team-best .391 hit percentage, which ranks first in the Summit League and 26th in the nation. She is also ranked ninth in the Summit League in total blocks with 92.0.
WORK ON DEFENSE
The Bison are ranked fifth in the Summit League with 1,556. NDSU posted a season-high 98 digs in the 3-2 win over Southeast Missouri State with five players hitting double digits. Ali Hinze led the Bison with a team-high 21 digs, while Syra Tanchin contributed a career-high 20 digs. Ava Schmoll also posted a career-high 17 digs.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Syra Tanchin and Ali Hinze have been named to the Summit League Players to Watch list. Hinze ranked fifth in the Summit League in eliminations with a career-high 370 and eliminations per set with 3.43 last season. On the defensive end, Hinze contributed a career-high 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 a record 30 total blocks with 83 digs defensively.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON SURVEY
NDSU was chosen to finish seventh in the Summit League Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll. Denver took first place 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.
IT’S OUR HOME
The Bisons have called Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse their home since 1978 and set an overall home record of 402-103 during that span. The NDSU earned its 400th BBF victory after sweeping Kansas City, 3-0, on October 1, 2022.
TAKE CARE OF CLASSROOM AFFAIRS
The NDSU won 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% of NCAA Division I. NDSU notched a 3.56 GPA in the spring semester and a 3.63 GPA last year.
NEW TO THE SQUAD
Le Bison added five newcomers to the roster in 2022, including three freshmen: Bailey Randall, Nora Raasch and Ally Barth.
NDSU also added transfers Eke Denessen and Logan O’Brien. Denessen has spent the past two seasons in South Florida and played in 24 games with 13 starts in 2021. O’Brien has played in 49 games and had 201 digs in two seasons in North Florida.
LOTS OF DEPTH IN THE RANGE
The NDSU enters 2022 with 10 players returning from last season, including four seniors: Syra Tanchin, Michelle Glover, Ava Schmoll and Kelly Johnson. The Bisons also have plenty of experience with four players having played at least 60 career games. Glover has played the most career games among active Bison players with 72, including two seasons (46 games) at Illinois-Chicago.
THE VS SERIES. OMAHA
This will mark the 96th all-time meeting between NDSU and Omaha dating back to 1978 with the Mavericks leading the series, 53-42. The Mavericks have won each of the last eight meetings and most recently edged the Bison 3-1 earlier this season. Ali Hinze notched his ninth double-double of the season with 21 digs and 12 kills. Syra Tanchin connected on a team of 14 eliminations.
THE VS SERIES. DENVER
This will only be the 25th all-time meeting between Denver and NDSU with the Pioneers leading the series, 16-8. Earlier this season, the Bison swept the Pioneers, 3-0, and earned their first victory in Denver since 2018. Ali Hinze posted a record 17 kills with a 0.429 kill percentage, while Kelly Johnson added a game of 35 assists.
NEXT
The NDSU will travel to South Dakota on Thursday, November 17. The first service is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
