Final tune-up in Tennessee prior to Summit schedule

The North Dakota State University volleyball team made a trip to Clarksville, Tenn., and the Stacheville Challenge this past weekend. On Saturday, the Herd defeated the University of Tennessee-Martin 3 – 0 after opening the challenge with a 3 -1 loss against Austin Peay State University. On Sunday, the Bison were swept by East Tennessee State 3 – 0.

Austin Peay State –

Syra Tanchin paced the Bison with a season-high 23 kills to go along with a .367 hitting percentage and nine digs. Ali Hinze added 17 kills and 13 digs, while Kelley Johnson contributed a match-high 48 assists with 17 digs. Logan O’Brien also added a match-best 18 digs with seven assists.

Both teams exchanged points in a tight first set but Austin Peay went on to take the first set, 25-21. In the second set, which saw 11 ties and three lead changes, Austin Peay grabbed a late 23-22 edge to force an NDSU timeout. The Bison responded to close the set on a 4-0 run to win the set, 26-24. In a back-and-forth third set, the Bison stole the lead, 19-17. The Governors answered back by putting together a 3-0 run to open up a 22-20 advantage. Austin Peay held off NDSU the rest of the way to take the set, 25-21. In the fourth set, NDSU built a 22-19 edge after a kill from Hinze. The Bison then stretched their lead to 24-21 following a block from Hinze and Alexis Boling. However, the Governors responded to close the set on a 5-0 run to win the frame, 26-24, and the match, 3-1. 

UT-Martin –

Baily Randall led the Bison with a season-high 11 kills, while Glover added 10 kills with a .529 hitting percentage. Johnson notched a double-double with a match-best 28 assists and 11 digs. O’Brien contributed a match-high 15 digs on the defensive end with three assists and one ace.

In the first set, the Bison led by as many as 10 points, 17-7, then held off UT-Martin the rest of the way to win the set, 25-19. The Bison registered a .387 hitting percentage in the frame and Glover connected on six kills on six attempts.

In the second set, both teams exchanged points until the Bison slowly built a 17-10 advantage. NDSU then pushed their lead into double digits, 20-10, after Johnson delivered a kill. The Bison went on to win, 25-11.

UT Martin fought back in a third set that featured 14 ties and nine lead changes. At 19-19, the Bison snatched a 21-19 lead after a kill from Tanchin and an attack error. NDSU closed the set with three straight points capped off by a service ace from O’Brien to secure the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-0.

East Tennessee State –

East Tennessee State (6-6) raced out to an early 11-4 edge in the opening set. After NDSU called timeout, the Bison pushed back cutting the deficit down to one, 15-14. The Buccaneers responded to push their lead up to six, 22-16. ETSU went on to win the frame, 25-20.

The Bison fought back in the second set which featured nine ties and six lead changes. Ali Hinze locked the set, 15-15, with her first solo block of the day. The Bucs answered to regain the edge, 22-18 and would go on to win the set 25-22.

NDSU quickly opened up a 7-3 advantage in the third frame following kills from Allison Scheiwiller and Hinze. The Buccaneers responded with a momentum-shifting 10-3 run to steal the lead, 13-10, and never looked back winning the set 25-18, and the match, 3-0. Next up for the Bison is the Summit League schedule. NDSU will travel to St. Paul, Minn., and Macomb, Ill., to face the Tommies of St. Thomas and the Leathernecks of Western Illinois on Sept. 22^nd and 24^th, respectively. The following weekend, the Bison will be at home and host the Coyotes of South Dakota on Tuesday, Sept. 27^th, and the Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts University on Thursday, Sept. 29^th. Both matches start at 7 p.m. at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. Finally, a busy volleyball weekend will end on Sunday, Oct. 1^st when the Bison face the Kansas City Roos at 10 a.m. Student tickets are available at GoBison.com/Student.