Fargo ND (NDSU) – The North Dakota State (14-9, 8-4 Summit) volleyball team welcomes St. Thomas (16-8, 9-4 Summit) on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. The Bison then close out their home schedule against Omaha (8-14, 5-8 Summit) on Saturday. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
 
MATCH COVERAGE
GoBison.com: Both contests 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
Thursday night against St. Thomas will be Res Life Night with each res hall competing to see who has the highest attendance at the game to win a prize. Saturday night against Omaha will be senior night with the Bison recognizing Ally Barth and Baily Randall with a pregame ceremony. The full 2025 promotional schedule can be viewed 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
The Bison completed the regular sweep of North Dakota with a 3-0 sweep in Grand Forks last Saturday. Baily Randall reached double digits in kills for the second straight match with a match-high 11 kills to go along with six digs. Cathy Porter posted her fourth double-double of the season with a match-best 23 assists and 11 digs, while Lauren Jansen totaled a career-high 16 digs with seven kills.
 
THE SERIES VS. ST. THOMAS
This will be the 12th all-time meeting between NDSU and St. Thomas dating back to 1983 with the Bison leading the series, 9-2. The Bison are 6-0 all-time against the Tommies in Fargo, including a 3-2 win last season. In the most recent matchup earlier this season, St. Thomas topped NDSU, 3-0. Lauren Jansen led the way with a match-high 12 kills and four digs.
 
THE SERIES VS. OMAHA
This will be the 103rd all-time meeting between NDSU and Omaha dating back to 1978 with the Mavericks leading the series, 57-45. The two teams have split each of the last four meetings after NDSU picked up a 3-1 win at Omaha earlier this season. Lauren Jansen totaled a match-high 17 kills with nine digs against the Mavericks.
 
LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS
Zoe John and Cathy Porter have each been in the starting lineup over the last five matches for the Bison. NDSU used the same starting lineup for the first 18 matches prior to making the switch. The Bison are 3-2 over the last five matches with John and Porter in the lineup.
 
THE BBF ADVANTAGE
The Bison have notched a 9-2 record at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse this season, which is the most wins at home since 2017. NDSU won each of its first eight matches before falling short against South Dakota. 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 1.75 aces per set, which ranks 43rd in the nation. Baily Randall leads the Bison with 0.43 aces per set, which is slotted third in the Summit League.
 
BARTH OVER THE LAST FIVE
Ally Barth has logged at least four total blocks in four of the last five matches, including a season-best seven total blocks against Oral Roberts and South Dakota State. The Verona, Wis., native has totaled a team-high 24 total blocks and is averaging a team-best 1.41 blocks per set over that span.
 
MIDDLE PRODUCTION
Arianna Blohm leads NDSU with 85.0 total blocks and is averaging 1.05 blocks per set, which ranks fourth in the Summit League. She’s also one of the most efficient offensive players in the lineup with a team-best .332 hitting percentage. Blohm has totaled 172 kills on 376 attempts with only 47 errors this season. Her 172 kills rank third on the team.
 
JANSEN BY THE NUMBERS
Lauren Jansen has totaled a career-best 262 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 15 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 each of the first 23 matches in her freshman season. She has posted double digits in digs in 19 matches and has totaled a team-high 319 digs, which ranks second in the Summit League. She is also slotted second in the league averaging a team-high 3.94 digs per set.
 
UTILITY PLAYER
After only appearing in two matches primarily as a setter against Montana and Idaho, Emily Bruss has also checked in as an outside hitter. She has contributed 12 kills and notched her first career double-double with 20 assists to go along with 11 digs in the win at Kansas City. Bruss appeared in 18 matches in her freshman season at setter and has totaled 355 career assists over two seasons, which ranks second on the team among active players on the roster.
 
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 91 matches played over four seasons, while Blohm has appeared in 78 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 425-113 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 will wrap up regular season play at South Dakota on Tuesday, Nov. 18. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.