Sports

NDSU Volleyball Travels to Denver and Oral Roberts

Published

2 months ago

October 29, 2025

THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (12-7, 6-3 Summit) volleyball team is back on the road this week against Denver (13-8, 5-5 Summit) on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. CT. The Bison finish the trip at Oral Roberts (2-20, 0-10 Summit) on Saturday. First serve is set for 12:00 p.m.

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.

LAST TIME OUT
NDSU snapped a three-match losing streak after rolling past Kansas City, 3-0, in Fargo. Lauren Jansen powered the Bison with a match-high 13 kills to go along with four digs, three blocks and two service aces. She also registered a .480 hitting percentage on 25 attacks with only one error. Cathy Porter posted a match-high 18 assists with eight digs and three service aces. Rya Borer rounded out the top performers with a match-best 11 digs and six assists.

THE SERIES VS. DENVER
This will be the 32nd all-time meeting between NDSU and Denver dating back to 1983 with the Pioneers leading the series, 20-11. In their most recent meeting earlier this season, Arianna Blohm posted 10 kills with a .714 hitting percentage to guide NDSU past Denver, 3-0.

THE SERIES VS. ORAL ROBERTS
This will be the 41st all-time meeting between NDSU and Oral Roberts dating back to 1982 with the Bison leading the series, 27-13. The Bison are 7-3 over the last 10 meetings with the Golden Eagles, including a 3-2 win in Fargo earlier this season. Lauren Jansen posted a double-double with a match-best 17 kills and 14 digs.

ORAL ROBERTS CONNECTIONS
Sadie Johnson is the younger sister of Sophie Johnson, who is a graduate student defensive specialist for Oral Roberts. Sophie started her career at Southwest Minnesota State with a stop at South Dakota State last season.

LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS
The Bison made their first starting lineup adjustment of the season against Kansas City last week. Zoe John made her first start as a Bison at outside hitter, while Cathy Porter also made her first career start at setter.

THE BBF ADVANTAGE
The Bison have notched a 9-1 record at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse this season. 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 six 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 1.86 aces per set, which ranks 31st in the nation. Baily Randall leads the Bison with 0.43 aces per set, which is slotted fourth in the Summit League.

MIDDLE PRODUCTION
Arianna Blohm leads NDSU with 68.0 total blocks and is averaging 0.99 blocks per set, which ranks seventh in the Summit League. She’s also one of the most efficient offensive players in the lineup with a team-best .309 hitting percentage. Blohm has totaled 137 kills on 311 attempts with only 41 errors this season. Her 137 kills rank third on the team.

CONSISTENT START
Lauren Jansen has reached double digits in kills in 15 matches and leads the Bison with 230 kills, which ranks tied for sixth in the Summit League. She is also positioned in fifth in the league with a team-best 3.33 kills per set.

IMPACT FRESHMAN
Rya Borer has been in the starting lineup each of the first 19 matches in her freshman season. She has posted double digits in digs in 15 matches and has totaled a team-high 263 digs, which ranks fourth in the Summit League. She is also slotted second in the league averaging a team-high 3.93 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 278 career assists, 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 87 matches played over four seasons, while Blohm has appeared in 74 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 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 425-112 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 be back in action hosting South Dakota State on Thursday, Nov. 6. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.

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No. 3 Aggies Face No. 1 Kentucky in National Championship – Texas A&M Athletics

Published

1 hour ago

December 21, 2025

Your Sports Nation

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 3 seed Texas A&M volleyball team squares off with No. 1 seed Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament National Championship Sunday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center with first serve set for 2:30 p.m.

The Aggies kept their historic campaign alive after downing their second-straight No. 1 seed in the Pitt Panthers to book their spot in the program’s first national final. The Maroon & White battled into extras to take the opener (29-27), then followed on with a dominant showing in sets two (25-21) and three (25-20) to secure their 17th sweep of the year.

Texas A&M’s offense fired on all cylinders thanks to the direction of Maddie Waak. The setter dished 48 assists in the contest which was a postseason program record in a three-set match during the rally-scoring era. Waak’s pins delivered the blows as Kyndal Stowers and Logan Lednicky accounted for 30 kills with 16 and 14, respectively. The team’s efficiency stood out on the box score, as the group hit at .382 which marked the 13th time over .300 this season.

On the defensive end the nation’s premier middle blocker, Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, continued to be a force at the net, recording five blocks in the contest which marked her fifth-straight game with five or more and 19th this season.

The Matchup

Sunday’s contest between Texas A&M and Kentucky will be the first the 28th all-time meeting between the teams. The Wildcats hold a 17-10 advantage in the series, however the Maroon & White are 2-0 when the team’s meet on a neutral court.

Kentucky has claimed the last four battles between the teams, including a four-set affair in Reed Arena this season which was the Aggies’ only conference loss on the year.

Looking at the stat sheet, the Maroon & White lead Kentucky in four of the seven team statistical categories including hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, aces per set and blocks per set, while the Wildcats have the advantage in kills per set, assists per set and digs per set.

Tracks and Trends
Logan Lednicky has recorded double-digit kills in her last 22 matches and passed Hollann Hans for the rally-scoring kills record and ranks third overall in career kills at Texas A&M.

Ifenna Cos-Okpalla has logged five or more blocks in her last six games and is one blocks away from tying the program record for career blocks of 562. She is also five blocks from reaching 200 on the year.

Texas A&M became just the third No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament history to dispatch two No. 1 seeds, joining UCLA in 2011 and Nebraska in 2021.

Streaming & Stats
Fans can watch the match on the ABC and follow stats on 12thman.com.

Follow the Aggies
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.

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Sports

Badgers news: Wisconsin lands top middle blocker in the transfer portal

Published

2 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Your Sports Nation

It’s been a crazy three days for the Wisconsin Badgers. On Thursday, they had a heartbreaking loss to the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA National Semifinal. On Friday, they lost five players to the transfer portal.

Well, on Saturday, amid all the portal craziness, Wisconsin landed a commitment from Florida Gators transfer middle blocker Jaela Auguste, she announced.

Auguste, a sophomore this past season, had a great season, earning the following accolades after the season: AVCA Third Team All-American, AVCA Southeast Region First Team, All-SEC First Team, and SEC Preseason All-SEC Team.

She averaged 2.69 kills and 0.98 blocks per set for the Gators in 2025.

Wisconsin was likely to make an addition at middle blocker, as they’re losing starters Carter Booth and Alicia Andrew to eligibility, creating a hole in the middle. Additionally, redshirt freshman Tosia Serafinowska is entering the transfer portal, taking away some depth at the position.

With a loaded freshman class, it’s unclear how busy the Badgers will be in the transfer portal after a strong class last year, as they have Grace Lopez returning from injury. But, they quickly moved to get a big commitment from Auguste.

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Two Nebraska volleyball players win AVCA positional awards

Published

2 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dec. 20, 2025, 6:30 a.m. CT

A pair of Nebraska volleyball players received top positional awards on Friday. Bergen Reilly and Andi Jackson received the honors at the AVCA Awards Banquet in Kansas City. Reilly was named the Setter of the Year and Jackson was named Middle Blocker of the Year. The AVCA positional awards are new this season.

Reilly averaged 10.47 assists per set and 2.70 digs per set. She also totaled 73 kills, 67 blocks and 19 aces. The setter was named Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Setter of the Year and a first-team AVCA All-American. She was also a finalist for AVCA Player of the Year.

Jackson averaged 2.74 kills per set on .467 hitting with 1.12 blocks per set and 16 aces. Her .467 hitting percentage led the nation. The middle blocker was an AVCA All-American and All-Big for the second straight season. She was also an AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist.

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Craig Skinner Says Kentucky Volleyball is at the ‘Pinnacle of Our Sport’ Ahead of Texas A&M National Championship Matchup

Published

2 hours ago

December 20, 2025

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Kentucky, under the leadership of head coach Craig Skinner, has become an elite program in college volleyball. On Sunday, the team will have the chance to reach the highest of heights when they play for the National Championship versus Texas A&M.

“We are at the pinnacle of our sport, and it’s a great opportunity for Kentucky volleyball and our fans to be in this moment,” Skinner said.

After Kentucky escaped in a thrilling game against Wisconsin on Thursday night, the Cats and Aggies will be part of a historic title game. It’ll be the first time two SEC teams will be facing each other in the national championship.

“Couldn’t be more proud of our team and how we pulled that match out against Wisconsin,” Skinner said. “All the respect to Texas A&M. Congrats to the SEC for being an elite in volleyball.”

Creating an Environment Bigger than Themselves

When Kentucky lost the first set to Wisconsin in the Final Four matchup on Thursday night, the team was anything but smiles. However, as the team started to come back, the confidence was regained. Kentucky volleyball started to look happy.

Being happy on the court isn’t unique for a team like Kentucky. The team has a fun tradition of drawing smiley faces on their hands before each game.

“The beginning of the season, we gave them a picture of them playing volleyball as little girls,” Skinner said. “Those little girls played it because they love it. It creates an environment where you are playing for something bigger than yourself.”

That tradition has powered Kentucky to historic heights in 2025. Now, they’ll have an opportunity for a perfect ending.

“It becomes way bigger than that,” Skinner said. “It’s a great reminder because we play the sport because it’s fun.”

So much of Kentucky’s focus has been joy. Skinner said that his staff gave his players pictures of themselves playing volleyball at an early point in their career.

“It’s a collective effort to understand why we play the game,” Skinner said. “Why did that little athlete play volleyball? They loved it; they had fun.”

The NCAA Volleyball National Championship game will take place on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ABC from T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City.

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Kelly Sheffield is ‘extremely supportive’ of 5 Badgers in portal

Published

2 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dec. 20, 2025, 10:20 a.m. CT

Five Wisconsin players, none of whom were regular starters, have entered the NCAA transfer portal. Kelly Sheffield is ‘extremely supportive’ of them.
Sheffield expressed frustration with the timing of the NCAA’s transfer portal window, which overlaps with the tournament.
The Badgers are looking to add players from the portal, including a setter and a libero/defensive specialist.

MADISON – Two days after losing in the Final Four and one day after getting back from Kansas City, Kelly Sheffield was spending his Saturday morning in his Kellner Hall office.

“It used to be a time that I was on vacation by now,” said Sheffield, who recently wrapped up his 13th season as Wisconsin’s head volleyball coach. “And that’s certainly not the case right now.”

That is a necessity as Wisconsin volleyball quickly pivots from an inspiring postseason run to a rapid roster-reconstructing phase with transfer portal activity at full tilt.

Five Wisconsin players have announced their intention to enter the transfer portal – setter Addy Horner, outside hitter Trinity Shadd-Ceres, middle blocker Tosia Serafinowska and liberos/defensive specialists Aniya Warren and Maile Chan. Aside from when Horner stepped up during Charlie Fuerbringer’s injury, none of the five had starting roles in 2025.

“Them leaving is not an indictment on them or the program,” Sheffield said in a phone call with the Journal Sentinel. “I care deeply about them and their families, and I would venture to say they loved and appreciated and enjoyed their experiences here. But you could also want more, and I’m good on that.”

Sheffield, who would be surprised by any additional portal departures, views the current reality of transfer portal decisions as “almost a rewiring” of how transfer decisions may have been previously perceived.

“When people transferred even just a handful of years ago – what is wrong?” Sheffield said. “There’s either something wrong with the program, or there’s something wrong with the players, or they’re selfish. And sometimes those things happen.”

But in the case of the five players who departed in the wake of the Final Four loss, Sheffield is unequivocal in saying it’s “not how we have usually thought about transferring.”

“I’ve heard from multiple players since they got in the portal that have said they’ve heard from school X and school Y,” Sheffield said. “What are my thoughts on that? So it’s more collaborative than it’s ever been.”

Sheffield and his staff “totally understand them wanting to get the next phase figured out as quickly as possible.” He does take issue with the NCAA putting the transfer portal window from Dec. 7 to Jan. 5, however, as it overlaps with the second and third weekends of the NCAA tournament.

“What it is an indictment on is the timing of our current portal window,” Sheffield said. “And that’s what kind of makes this an unfortunate situation is the portal has been open for two weeks. … If you’re going to make a move, then things have to happen pretty darn quick. It feels weird that within 24 hours of a Final Four, that people are in the portal. I think everybody wishes that there could be a moment of pause and reflection, but it just doesn’t allow that.”

Wisconsin’s 2025 portal additions worked quite well for the Badgers, as Mimi Colyer was a finalist for AVCA national player of the year while Grace Egan and Alicia Andrew also stepped into starting roles.

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Paulson Leads UMD Men’s Basketball in 80-65 Victory Over UMary

Published

3 hours ago

December 20, 2025

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The University of Minnesota Duluth men’s basketball team improved to a 5-2 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) competition before the holiday break after securing an 80-65 win over the University of Mary inside Romano Gymnasium.

Leading the charge for the Bulldogs was Noah Paulson with his second 20-point game of the season. He led the way, shooting 10-14 (71.4%) from the field, collecting seven rebounds (two offensive), one assist, one block, and one steal. Following close behind was Jackson Fowlkes with 18 points and shooting 54.5% (6-11) from the field with a 50% (2-4) in three-pointers. He also collected the team’s season high in individual assists with five.

Entering the first half, Mattie Thompson, Paulson, and Nick Katona led an 11-2 scoring effort for the team’s first lead of the game in under three minutes. The Marauders then flipped the effort in the next four minutes on a 10-2 run to set the Bulldog lead to 13-12. Right after a three-pointer by Jackson Ware overcame a set of free throws from Katona to tie the game up at 15-15 with 12:22 to go.

By the seven-minute mark, UMD had lifted a colossal 20-9 scoring effort with eight points by Daniel Molhoek and seven from Fowlkes to jump out ahead 35-24. For the remainder of the half, the Bulldogs held firm to hold a 44-32 lead into the halftime break.

The Bulldogs kept the pace up as the first ten minutes of the second half saw Caleb Siwek, Fowlkes, and Paulson combine for a 21-16 scoring run to push a 65-48 lead. The Marauders narrowly outscored the Bulldogs in the following five minutes with 10 points to cut the lead by one to 74-58. UMD held on to the lead in the final minutes to seal an 80-65 win.

Overall, the team shot 51.7% (31-60) from the field, 37.5% (6-16) beyond the arc, and 70.6% (12-17) from the free throw line. The team outscored the Marauders in points in the paint, 46 to 16, while out-rebounding them 41 to 33. Leading the rebounding effort for UMD was Katona with eight total rebounds (one offensive).

The Bulldogs return after the holidays with their first matchup of 2026 on January 3rd on the road against Bemidji State University. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. inside BSU Gymnasium.

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