Sweeps at Gonzaga and Montana Propel Volleyball into Summit League Play

Coming into the Zags Volleyball Classic, the thundering herd went to Bozeman, Montana for the Bobcat Invitational and split series against Montana State, losing 3-2, while sweeping the University of Portland.

NDSU came into Spokane, Washington, 5-2 with a momentum-changing win against UNLV. Coming into the Zags Volleyball Classic, they faced the likes of Gonzaga of the Pac-12, Montana of the Big Sky and the University of Seattle of the West Coast Conference.

The first game that the Bison played was a familiar Big Sky Conference opponent — the University of Montana Grizzlies. They came into Washington at 3-5, led by Delaney Russell, Kaylee Paulson and Mylee Blake.

Zoe John put NDSU on cruise control after a kill leading 17-7. Lauren Jansen got set up by Sarah Pfiffner for a kill that resulted in the first set going to the team from North Dakota (25-17).

In the second set, the Griz would strike back. Pfiffner hit a spike to knot up the score 17-17; after the spike, Montana went on a run of their own, 8-3, winning the second set 25-20.

NDSU found themselves in a battle during the third set. Josie Blazina put Montana up 16-12, forcing NDSU to regroup for the second half of the third set. NDSU settled in and took the lead thanks to Arianna Blohm rising high and spiking the ball, 18-17. Rya Borer set up Lauren Jansen for the kill and shut the door on the Griz, winning 25-23. The score ended with 2-1, putting NDSU in the lead.

Kendall Worwa blocked Sophia Vella to give NDSU the commanding 11-7 lead in the fourth set, but Montana wouldn’t go away. The Grizzlies always stayed within three points of NDSU until the 24-24 mark, where they tied up.

Montana took the lead, 25-24, after a kill from Mylee Blake, but NDSU went on a 3-0 run, and the hammer, Lauren Jansen, closed the game, 27-25.

The Bison faced a short turnaround in a match against the host team, Gonzaga, 24 hours later. Gonzaga, which recently joined the Pac-12 this year, has struggled to start the year. They’ve gone 4-7 but have some standout players, including Claire Wagstaff, Raechelle Dykstra and Veronica Kjaer-Sorensen.

NDSU would strike early with a kill from Jansen, leading 12-9. But Claire Wagstaff led the Zags back to take a two-point lead, 17-15, before NDSU’s Kendall Worwa blocked Kjaer-Sorensen to give the Bison the 22-18 edge. NDSU closed the first set after a Wagstaff error.

It was a back-and-forth affair in the second set, but after a Kjaer-Sorenson error, NDSU took an 18-12 lead. Arianna Biohm put on cruise control on the Zags to steer the set to a win, 25-17.

Halfway through the third set, Blohm would strike again, and the score became even at 11-11. Gonzaga kept fighting, and after Nia Damuni set up Megan Deveaux for a spike, the Bulldogs led 16-13. Damuni then set up Lucy Slavik, and once again, the Zags took a commanding lead, 22-19.

But NDSU stormed back and went on their own 6-0 run after Blohm blocked Wagstaff to win 25-22.

NDSU finished the non-conference schedule 8-2 after a convincing win against Seattle. The Bison will now open up Summit League play against St. Thomas at 7 p.m. on September 24.