NDSU Volleyball Opens 2025 Season Hosting Bowling Green

THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State volleyball team is set to begin the 2025 season hosting Bowling Green on Friday at 6:00 p.m. The Bison will then face Temple on Saturday at 11 a.m., before closing the weekend against Saint Mary’s on Sunday at 11 a.m. NDSU will also host a neutral site match between Bowling Green and Temple on Friday at 1 p.m. All four matches will be at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
 
MATCH COVERAGE
GoBison.com: All four matches 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.
 
Radio: The Friday match against Bowling Green and Sunday match against Saint Mary’s will also available on Bison 1660. Fans can also listen to the radio broadcast for free on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.
 
PROMOTIONS
The Friday night match will be College Colors Day with the first 250 students receiving a free green NDSU t-shirt. Students can also enjoy food, games, and more pre-game outside of Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. Fans will receive a free volleyball poster on Saturday and Sunday. 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.
 
IN SEASON OPENERS
For the first time in four seasons, NDSU will open the season at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. Under ninth-year head coach Jennifer Lopez, the Bison are 4-4 in season openers after dropping a 3-0 decision against UAlbany in Fort Myers, Fla., last year. Excluding the 2020 spring season home-opening win over North Dakota due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bison haven’t opened the season at home since a 3-0 win over Emporia State in 2003.
 
WELCOME TO FARGO
It won’t be the first matchup between any of the teams this weekend, but it will be the first-ever trip to Fargo for Bowling Green, Temple and Saint Mary’s. NDSU has played each team one time prior at neutral site events.
 
THE SERIES VS. BOWLING GREEN
This will the second all-time meeting between NDSU and Bowling Green. The Bison edged the Falcons in their only matchup, 3-2, in 1988, in Madison, Wis.
 
THE SERIES VS. TEMPLE
This will be the second all-time meeting between NDSU and Temple. In their only matchup in 2004, the Owls topped the Bison, 3-2, in Green Bay, Wis.
 
THE SERIES VS. SAINT MARY’S
This will be the second all-time meeting between NDSU and Saint Mary’s. The Gaels picked up a 3-1 win over the Bison in 2016 in Fort Collins, Colo.
 
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, which is the most of any returning player on the roster. 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.
 
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 reached double digits in six matches , including 16 at St. Thomas on Oct. 24, 2024. That total ranked as the most aces in the NDSU Division I era and second-most all-time in a five-set match. Lauren Jansen led the Summit League and ranked 46th in the nation with 0.45 aces per set last season.
 
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 and Blohm are the only players on the roster with at least 50 career matches played. Barth leads the team with 68 matches played over three seasons, while Blohm has appeared in 55 matches over two 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 417-112 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 Missoula, Mont., for the Ellesyn Invitational. The Bison will face Oakland on Friday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. CT. NDSU will conclude the trip against Montana on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 10 a.m. CT