The Bison had four players with double-digit kills this past Thursday as the NDSU Volleyball team opened up Summit League play against St. Thomas in St. Paul.
Lauren Jansen spearheaded the Bison offense as she logged her first career double-double, logging 17 kills and 14 digs. Arriana Blohm recorded a career-best 15 kills, and Alexis Boling added another 13. Ali Hinze was also good for a double-double, as she went for 14 kills and 10 digs.
The Bison also had two main facilitators today, as Eke Denessen (30) and Maddy Dombeck (21) both logged double-digit assists in the win. Logan O’Brien also logged a season-best 26 digs, and her ninth time in 10 games with double-digit assists. Baily Randall also added 8 serving aces.
The first set was a back-and-forth tilt, with the Bison and the Tommies trading points until the Bison were able to pull away to a 19-15 lead. A second late run from the Bison staved off any comeback attempt from St. Thomas, and the Bison wrapped up the first set, 25-21.
In set two, the Tommies jumped on the Bison early to a 13-9 advantage. NDSU worked back and evened it up at 17 a piece. A back-and-forth set the rest of the way saw the Bison with a game-point opportunity as they took a 24-23 lead, but a 5-2 run from the Tommies finished set two in favor of St. Thomas by a final score of 28-26.
A short memory for the Bison led to an 8-2 start in set three, and that lead was never relinquished as they pushed it to 17-10 from Ally Barth and Baily Randall. The Bison were able to keep pace and cruise to a third-set win by a final score of 25-18.
Set number four was another back-and-forth one to start, with the Bison finding themselves up 15-13 midway through the set. A 6-1 run topped off by an Ali Hinze kill had the Bison sitting up 21-13. The Tommies answered with a 5-1 run of their own, bringing it all the way back to 22-19. Three kills from three different Bison ended any comeback hopes St.Thomas had to secure set four, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
The Bison head back to Fargo to play host to Denver this Thursday in another Summit League matchup at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. The first serve is slated for 7:00 p.m.
This article was written by Sam Huesby.