THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (17-7, 10-2 Summit) volleyball team is set to host South Dakota State (10-13, 4-7 Summit) on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. The Bison will then travel to North Dakota (12-11, 9-3 Summit) on Saturday. First serve is set for 4:00 p.m.
MATCH COVERAGE
The match against South Dakota State will be available on WDAY Xtra with Cullen Holt (play-by-play) and Carl Olberholtzer (analyst) on the call. The contest will also be streamed and feature live statistics on GoBison.com. The match at North Dakota will have live statistics and will be available on Midco Sports Plus for subscribers.
TICKETS
General admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth ages 3-17, and reserved tickets are $10-12. 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
Ali Hinze totaled a match-high 14 kills to lead NDSU past Oral Roberts, 3-0, on Saturday. With the win, the Bison extended their win streak to four matches and improve to 17-7 (10-2 Summit) on the season. It marks the first time since 2016 that the Bison have reached the 10-win plateau in Summit League play.
IN THE MIX
NDSU enters the week in second place in the Summit League standings. South Dakota (21-2, 10-1 Summit) sits in the top spot and has won its last eight matches. NDSU started conference play with a 5-0 record for the first time since 2010 before falling short against North Dakota, 3-2.
HEAT CHECK
The Bison lead the Summit League and rank 25th in the nation in hitting percentage (.264). NDSU also paces the conference and is slotted 31st in the nation in total kills with 1,249. The Bison have connected on 60 or more kills in eight matches, including a season-high 70 against Chicago State, Central Michigan and Austin Peay.
THE DYNAMIC DUO
Syra Tanchin and Ali Hinze have both surpassed the 300-kill mark this season. Tanchin is slotted fourth in the Summit League with a team-high 324 kills, while Hinze is positioned fifth with 307. NDSU is the only team in the conference with two different players ranked inside the top five.
BALL MOVEMENT
The Bison rank second in the Summit League and 27th in the nation in assists per set with 12.89. Kelley Johnson paces NDSU with a team-high 947 assists, which leads the conference and ranks 18th in the nation. She’s distributed 50 or more assists in five matches this season, including a career-high 58 against Chicago State and Central Michigan.
JOHNSON MOVES INTO THE TOP 10
Kelley Johnson handed out a match-high 34 assists in the win over St. Thomas on Sept. 22 to reach the 2,000 career assists plateau. She has now amassed 2,461 assists over 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 KILL CLUB
Syra Tanchin connected on 23 kills against North Dakota to surpass the 1,000 career kills mark. She has totaled 1,086 kills over four seasons and ranks 22nd on the all-time list. Tanchin is one of eight players to reach the mark in the NDSU Division I era.
A FACTOR ON BOTH ENDS
Michelle Glover has registered a team-best .408 hitting percentage, which ranks first in the Summit League and 14th in the nation. She is also positioned seventh in the Summit League in total blocks with 85.0.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Syra Tanchin and Ali Hinze were named to the Summit League Players to Watch List. Hinze ranked fifth in the Summit League in kills with a career-high 370 and kills per set with 3.43 last season. On the defensive end, Hinze contributed a career-best 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 in a career-best 30 total blocks with 83 digs on the defensive side.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
NDSU was picked to finish seventh in the Summit League Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Denver earned the top spot 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.
THIS IS OUR HOUSE
The Bison have called Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse home since 1978 and have notched a 402-102 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 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 percent of NCAA Division I. NDSU notched a 3.56 GPA in the spring semester and a 3.63 cumulative GPA last year.
NEW TO THE SQUAD
The Bison added five newcomers to the roster in 2022, including three freshman: Baily Randall, Nora Raasch and Ally Barth.
NDSU also added transfers Eke Denessen and Logan O’Brien. Denessen spent the last two seasons at South Florida and appeared in 24 matches with 13 starts in 2021. O’Brien appeared in 49 matches and totaled 201 digs over two seasons at North Florida.
PLENTY OF DEPTH IN THE LINEUP
NDSU enters 2022 with 10 players returning from last season, including four seniors: Syra Tanchin, Michelle Glover, Ava Schmoll and Kelley Johnson. The Bison also boast plenty of experience with four players having appeared in 60 or more career matches. Glover has played in the most career matches among active Bison players with 72, including two seasons (46 matches) at Illinois-Chicago.
THE SERIES VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
This will be the 104th all-time meeting between NDSU and South Dakota State dating back to 1974 with the Bison leading the series, 81-22. In their most recent meeting last season, the Jackrabbits edged the Bison, 3-1. Ali Hinze logged a double-double with a team-high 15 kills and 10 digs.
THE SERIES VS. NORTH DAKOTA
This will be the 107th meeting between NDSU and North Dakota dating back to 1966. The Bison have won eight of the last nine meetings and lead the all-time series, 86-20. In their most recent meeting earlier this season, the Fighting Hawks topped the Bison, 3-2. Syra Tanchin paced NDSU with a match-high 23 kills to go along with 10 digs and one service ace.
NEXT UP
NDSU will host Omaha on Thursday, Nov. 10. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
Source: Gobison
