ON TAP
North Dakota (5-7) embarks on its first road trip in Big Sky Conference play, heading to Weber State Thursday and Idaho State Saturday. UND earned its first-ever Big Sky win last Saturday with a home sweep of Montana.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS (6-7, 0-2 Big Sky)
Weber State had a four-match win streak halted last week with a pair of losses to open conference play ... The Wildcats’ .133 hitting percentage is last in the conference heading into this weekend ... But, WSU allows its opponents to hit just .165, the lowest percentage in the league ... Rebecca Fuchs is the team’s top hitter, averaging 3.07 kills/set ... This will be the first meeting between the schools all-time.
SCOUTING THE BENGALS (8-3, 2-0)
ISU employs the top hitting team in the Big Sky, by hit percentage (.289) ... That percentage ranks 17th in all of NCAA Division I ... The Bengals have won six straight matches ... ISU’s Lori Mendenhall is a back-to-back winner of the Big Sky’s Player of the Week (Sept. 10 & 17) ... Mendenhall leads the league in assists per set (11.25), a mark that ranks 35th in DI ... Saturday will be the first meeting between the schools.
CAPTAINS’ LOG
Through last week, both UND captains, juniors Lisa Parlich and Ronni Munkeby, find themselves among the leaders in hitting percentage in the conference. The pair each appear in the top 10 statistically through Sept. 16. Parlich is fourth in the league with a .327 clip while Munkeby sits in sixth with a .306 hitting percentage.
PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES
Of the top 10 individual match highs for attack percentage in the Big Sky this season, UND owns five. Parlich’s career night against South Dakota (.778--15 kills, 1 error, 18 attempts) still leads the Big Sky while Felicia Ulrich (sixth, 10th) and Ronni Munkeby (seventh, ninth) each appear of the list.
COMING UP ACES
Felicia Ulrich recorded five service aces at Ole Miss Saturday. That total tops the Big Sky Conference for a single match this season. UND is also tied for the top team total for service aces in a single match with a dozen against Stephen F. Austin (9-1-12).
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DUO
Sophomore Nikki Husfeldt registered her first pair of double-double matches last week in the Big Sky opening weeekend. She followed-up Thursday’s 50-assist, 11 dig effort with 38 helpers and 11 more digs on Saturday. Teammate Lexi Robinson recorded her team-high sixth double-double of the season with her 15 kills and 10 digs on Thursday vs. Montana State.
HUSFELDT HELPERS
Sophomore setter Nikki Husfeldt is averaging 11.12 assists per set this season, second-best in the conference. Her average puts her 36th in all of Division I.
FIRST 100 GAMES IN OFFICE
Head coach Ashley Hardee coached his 100th match on Thursday vs. Montana State. The fourth-year head man has racked-up 77 wins in his first 100 matches, easily the most among UND coaches who have at least 100 matches under their belt. A look at where Hardee stacks up against other North Dakota coaches through their first 100 matches:
Ashley Hardee (2009-pres.) 77-23
Lisa Kissee (1986-1988) 46-54
Maria Bruggeman (1998-01) 42-58
Carol Cooke (1979-81) 31-69
UND ON THE RADIO
Three UND matches will be available on the radio as well. Tune in to hear Paul Ralston’s call on Sep. 1 for the Green Bay match and catch a pair of Big Sky matches: Sept. 13 vs. Montana State and Oct. 1 vs. Northern Colorado. The matches will be aired on KKXL-AM 1440 and WDAY-AM 970.
UND ON TV
Midco Sports Network will televise three UND volleyball games as part of its broadcast deal that includes football, men’s hockey, women’s hockey, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. The first televised volleyball game comes on Sept. 13 when UND hosts new Big Sky foe Montana State. BSC defending champion Northern Colorado visits BESC on Oct. 1 and Portland State rounds out the TV schedule on Nov. 8. Check MidcoSports.com for channel availability in your area.
BIG SKY TV
All UND home matches and every Big Sky road match will be available via free video webcast through Big Sky TV. Go to UNDSports.com for more details.
North Dakota (5-7) embarks on its first road trip in Big Sky Conference play, heading to Weber State Thursday and Idaho State Saturday. UND earned its first-ever Big Sky win last Saturday with a home sweep of Montana.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS (6-7, 0-2 Big Sky)
Weber State had a four-match win streak halted last week with a pair of losses to open conference play ... The Wildcats’ .133 hitting percentage is last in the conference heading into this weekend ... But, WSU allows its opponents to hit just .165, the lowest percentage in the league ... Rebecca Fuchs is the team’s top hitter, averaging 3.07 kills/set ... This will be the first meeting between the schools all-time.
SCOUTING THE BENGALS (8-3, 2-0)
ISU employs the top hitting team in the Big Sky, by hit percentage (.289) ... That percentage ranks 17th in all of NCAA Division I ... The Bengals have won six straight matches ... ISU’s Lori Mendenhall is a back-to-back winner of the Big Sky’s Player of the Week (Sept. 10 & 17) ... Mendenhall leads the league in assists per set (11.25), a mark that ranks 35th in DI ... Saturday will be the first meeting between the schools.
CAPTAINS’ LOG
Through last week, both UND captains, juniors Lisa Parlich and Ronni Munkeby, find themselves among the leaders in hitting percentage in the conference. The pair each appear in the top 10 statistically through Sept. 16. Parlich is fourth in the league with a .327 clip while Munkeby sits in sixth with a .306 hitting percentage.
PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES
Of the top 10 individual match highs for attack percentage in the Big Sky this season, UND owns five. Parlich’s career night against South Dakota (.778--15 kills, 1 error, 18 attempts) still leads the Big Sky while Felicia Ulrich (sixth, 10th) and Ronni Munkeby (seventh, ninth) each appear of the list.
COMING UP ACES
Felicia Ulrich recorded five service aces at Ole Miss Saturday. That total tops the Big Sky Conference for a single match this season. UND is also tied for the top team total for service aces in a single match with a dozen against Stephen F. Austin (9-1-12).
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DUO
Sophomore Nikki Husfeldt registered her first pair of double-double matches last week in the Big Sky opening weeekend. She followed-up Thursday’s 50-assist, 11 dig effort with 38 helpers and 11 more digs on Saturday. Teammate Lexi Robinson recorded her team-high sixth double-double of the season with her 15 kills and 10 digs on Thursday vs. Montana State.
HUSFELDT HELPERS
Sophomore setter Nikki Husfeldt is averaging 11.12 assists per set this season, second-best in the conference. Her average puts her 36th in all of Division I.
FIRST 100 GAMES IN OFFICE
Head coach Ashley Hardee coached his 100th match on Thursday vs. Montana State. The fourth-year head man has racked-up 77 wins in his first 100 matches, easily the most among UND coaches who have at least 100 matches under their belt. A look at where Hardee stacks up against other North Dakota coaches through their first 100 matches:
Ashley Hardee (2009-pres.) 77-23
Lisa Kissee (1986-1988) 46-54
Maria Bruggeman (1998-01) 42-58
Carol Cooke (1979-81) 31-69
UND ON THE RADIO
Three UND matches will be available on the radio as well. Tune in to hear Paul Ralston’s call on Sep. 1 for the Green Bay match and catch a pair of Big Sky matches: Sept. 13 vs. Montana State and Oct. 1 vs. Northern Colorado. The matches will be aired on KKXL-AM 1440 and WDAY-AM 970.
UND ON TV
Midco Sports Network will televise three UND volleyball games as part of its broadcast deal that includes football, men’s hockey, women’s hockey, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. The first televised volleyball game comes on Sept. 13 when UND hosts new Big Sky foe Montana State. BSC defending champion Northern Colorado visits BESC on Oct. 1 and Portland State rounds out the TV schedule on Nov. 8. Check MidcoSports.com for channel availability in your area.
BIG SKY TV
All UND home matches and every Big Sky road match will be available via free video webcast through Big Sky TV. Go to UNDSports.com for more details.
