As the heroic, Hawkeye-defeating Bison football team took this Saturday off from the field, the North Dakota State women’s volleyball team ruled the court to kick off its conference season.

Leading the Bison from the front row is senior setter, Ali Moody.

The 5’11” Dickinson, North Dakota native got into volleyball at a young age, watching beach dynamos Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings. “My friends and I always wanted to be Olympians,” Moody said, “but obviously that didn’t happen.”

Moody graduated from Dickinson High School as a three-year letter-winner and DHS Female Athlete of the Year before joining the Herd in 2013. So, even though she might not have been on the USA Volleyball roster as she’d hoped she would be, she did the next best thing and became a Bison.

Moody and the rest of the Bison volleyball team hosted Oral Roberts Friday night in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse with big goals in mind starting their conference season.

“We really want to finish strong this season.  We always start our season out strong and we want to continue that and be seated high in the conference, then go on to win the Summit Tournament,” said Moody. The game Moody was most looking forward to this season, however, was another 7 p.m. home match last Saturday versus IUPUI, one of the most competitive conference opponents the Bison face.

When asked about what her routine looks like inside the locker room before big games, Moody said she always likes to start out by getting herself in the right mind before she steps out on the court.

“A lot of us will read verses from Colossians before we play, or we also do some cheers together as a team,” she said. And in case you needed to spice up your playlist, or if you were wondering what rolls through the earbuds of a Division I volleyball player, Moody revealed that her go to song to get fired up before a match is, of course, “Closer” by The Chainsmokers.

Although an incredibly successful athlete on the court, Moody is also thriving in her activities outside of volleyball.

As a current psychology major, she plans to attend graduate school to obtain her Master’s in school counseling. In the summer, she works as a nanny at the Little Tykes Daycare and volunteers in Kidventure at Prairie Heights Community Church. In balancing her time as a student athlete Moody said the best advice she has for others when it comes to managing time is to “find what works for you; if it works to study the night before then keep doing what works.”

Moody and the Bison will go on the road this weekend to take on South Dakota and Western Illinois, but will be back at home on Oct. 7 against Summit League opponent Indian Purdue-Fort Wayne.