Volleyball Sweeps Oral Roberts on the Road, Comes Up Short at Kansas City

North Dakota State volleyball split its matches this week, sweeping Oral Roberts and falling to Kansas City. Thursday, Oct. 1, at the Mabee Center, NDSU kicked off its week against Oral Roberts.

NDSU controlled the match from start to finish, sweeping Oral Roberts in three sets. The Bison won the first set 25-19 after hitting .400, then pulled away early in the second set for a 25-11 win. NDSU opened the final set with an 8-1 lead and finished with a 25-18 victory.

Junior outside hitter Zoe John led the team with a match-high 12 kills and a .393 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Lauren Jansen also had a strong offensive game with nine kills and a solid defensive performance of 10 digs.

Sophomore setter Sarah Pfiffner had a match high of 27 assists for the Bison, while also adding five digs and five kills.

Sophomore defensive specialist Rya Borer led all players on the floor with a match high of 12 digs, anchoring the back-row defense for the Bison. Senior middle blockers Arianna Blohm and Emma Tallman helped control the net for the Bison defense, with both players registering a match high of four block assists.

With their strong defense and attack, the Bison played a great match to ultimately take the sweep. The set scores for the night were 25-19, 25-11 and 25-18.

Saturday, Oct. 3, the Kansas City Roos defeated the North Dakota State Bison 3-2 in a five-set thriller at the Swinney Center.

After losing the first set 25-22, NDSU won the next two sets behind strong performances from John, who led NDSU for the night with 19 kills, followed closely by Jansen with 18 kills and four service aces. Kansas City won the fourth set to force a fifth. The Bison fought off three match points to tie the final set at 15-15, but Kansas City scored the next two points to win 17-15 and take the match.

Pfiffner led the Bison in assists with a match high of 31, creating and moving the offense. Defensively, Borer anchored the back row, tying her career high with 24 digs, while Blohm stood tall at the net with seven blocks.

The Bison ended the night with a close loss, with the set scores of 25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 25-22 and 17-15.

Next up for the Bison, NDSU women's volleyball will play Saturday, Oct. 10, at 11 a.m. in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where they will take on their biggest in-state rival, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.