NDSU Volleyball Travels to Kansas City and Omaha – NDSU

THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (6-6, 2-1 Summit) volleyball team is back on the road this week at Kansas City (3-11, 1-2 Summit) on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. The Bison will wrap the trip at Omaha (5-9, 3-0 Summit) on Saturday night. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m., at Baxter Arena.
 
MATCH COVERAGE
Both matches will feature live statistics and be available on the Summit League Network for subscribers.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU fell short against Oral Roberts in five sets, 3-2, last Saturday at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. Lauren Jansen paced the Bison with a match-high 18 kills and 12 digs. Ali Hinze added in 13 kills with nine digs and Logan O’Brien contributed a match-best 22 digs. Maddy Dombeck rounded out the top performers with a match-high 21 assists.
 
THE SERIES VS. KANSAS CITY
This will be the 28th all-time meeting between NDSU and Kansas City dating back to 1982 with the Bison leading the series, 20-7. NDSU has dropped the last two meetings and most recently came up short against Kansas City in the Summit League Championship semifinal round last season, 3-2. Ali Hinze led the way for the Bison with a match-high 18 kills and 17 digs.
 
THE SERIES VS. OMAHA
This will be the 100th all-time meeting between NDSU and Omaha dating back to 1978 with the Mavericks leading the series, 55-44. The two teams are 2-2 over their last four meetings after NDSU topped Omaha, 3-1, in their most recent matchup last season in Omaha. Ali Hinze posted a match-high 17 kills with 10 digs, while Alexis Boling added in 11 kills of her own.
 
LOCKED IN FROM THE SERVICE LINE
NDSU has been one of the most effective teams in the nation at the service line through the first 12 matches this season. The Bison lead the Summit League and rank 11th in the nation in aces per set with 2.08. NDSU has reached double digits in aces in five matches this season, including a season-best 13 at St. Thomas.
 
JANSEN OVER THE LAST THREE
Lauren Jansen has started to become a factor on both sides of the floor after recording a double-double in two of the last three matches. Over that span, Jansen has posted a team-high 44 kills (3.67/set) to go along with 32 digs (3.67/set). She notched her first career double-double with a match-high 17 kills and 14 digs in the win over St. Thomas.
 
RANDALL SETS NEW RECORD
Baily Randall contributed a career-best eight service aces in the win at St. Thomas, which was the most-ever in a four-set match in NDSU history. That mark is tied for the fifth-most in a four-set match across NCAA Division I volleyball this season. Randall leads the Bison with a career-best 22 total aces this season.
 
PEAK PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Logan O’Brien was named the Summit League Defensive Peak Performer of the Week after she totaled a match-best and season-high 26 digs with five assists in the win over St. Thomas. She averaged 6.50 digs per set and it marked her third 20-dig performance of the season.
 
BOLING HITTING AT EFFICIENT RATE
After missing the first three matches to start the season, Alexis Boling has appeared in each of the last nine matches and has been one of the most efficient players in the lineup. She’s notched a .300 hitting percentage or better in eight matches, including a season-best .467 hitting percentage in the win over Denver.
 
PASSING IT AROUND
The Bison have started three different players at the setter position this season through the first 12 matches. Maddy Dombeck started the season opener with 18 assists against UAlbany and leads the Bison with 202 assists, while Emily Bruss has made seven starts and has recorded 161 assists. Eke Denessen has made four starts, including the last three be begin Summit League play. She recorded a career-best 30 assists in the win over the Tommies.
 
SHE CAN DO IT ALL
Ali Hinze has totaled the most kills in the NDSU Division I era with 1,598, which ranks sixth on the all-time Bison kills list. Janet Cobbs (1985-88) is the NDSU all-time leader with 2,091 career kills. Among active career leaders in NCAA Division I, Hinze ranks 14th in the nation with 1,598 total kills.
 
Hinze has also reached the 1,000 career digs mark and has tallied 1,295 over four seasons. She’s only the second player in the NDSU Division I era to record at least 1,000 career digs and 1,000 career kills, joining Brynn Joki (2009-12).
 
ENDLESS DEFENSIVE ENERGY
Logan O’Brien provides endless energy on the defensive side of the floor and has amassed a team-high 193 total digs this season. She recently surpassed the 1,000 career digs mark and has totaled 1,084 career digs. O’Brien started her career at North Florida for two seasons with 201 digs. Over the last three seasons at NDSU, she has contributed 883 digs and is averaging 3.09 digs per set, which ranks ninth on the all-time Bison digs per set list.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Senior outside hitter Ali Hinze and senior middle blocker Alexis Boling were selected to the Summit League Players to Watch list. Hinze, who has earned All-Summit League First Team honors each of the last two seasons, led the Bison and ranked second in the Summit League with 393 kills. Boling posted a career-best 299 kills last season and averaged 2.77 per set. She also added a career-high 63.0 total blocks on the defensive side.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Bison were picked fourth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches’ Poll and garnered 44 total points. Omaha took the top spot with 64 total points and eight first place votes.
 
STILL HIGH-POWERED ON OFFENSE
The Bison ranked second in the Summit League in 2023 in total kills with 1,492. NDSU brings back five players this season that contributed at least 170 kills last season, including Ali Hinze (393), Alexis Boling (299), Ally Barth (190), Lauren Jansen (188) and Arianna Blohm (179). NDSU has ranked inside the top two in total kills in the Summit League each of the last two seasons.
 
LOOKING BACK AT THE 2023 SEASON
The Bison posted an 18-11 (9-7 Summit) overall record last season and advanced to the Summit League Tournament semifinal round for the second straight season. NDSU has won at least 18 matches back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
 
GRUNWALD JOINS COACHING STAFF
Kris Grunwald joined the coaching staff in March and brings 33 years of Division I experience, including two head coaching stints at UConn (2014-19) and Auburn (1998-00). He comes to NDSU after spending the last three seasons as the associate head coach at Virginia.
 
EXPERIENCE IN THE LINEUP
NDSU returns five starters this season and the roster also features five seniors: Eke Denessen, Ali Hinze, Alexis Boling, Logan O’Brien and Morgan Middleton. O’Brien, who played in 49 career matches at North Florida prior to NDSU, has the most experience on the roster having appeared in 123 career matches. Hinze has also surpassed the 100 career matches mark with 120 over four seasons.
 
YOUNG BISON
The Bison welcome five newcomers to the roster this season: Tanith Roush, Maddy Dombeck, Layla Haritatos, Sadie Johnson and Emily Bruss. Arianna Blohm, Emma Tallman and Lauren Jansen are also underclassman on the roster and will each be entering their sophomore seasons. Blohm and Jansen were named to the All-Summit League Freshmen Team last season.
 
THIS IS OUR HOUSE
The Bison have called Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse home since 1978 and have notched a 414-109 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 12th straight year in 2023-24. 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 for the fifth straight season. NDSU boasted a 3.74 cumulative GPA last season.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
NDSU will host South Dakota State on Thursday, Oct. 17. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.