GRAND FORKS, N.D. -  Fighting Sioux fans will get their first chance to see the 2010 volleyball team this weekend as UND will play four home matches  as part of the North Dakota Classic at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The Sioux open the season with a 1 p.m. match against San Jose State on Friday.

2010 North Dakota Classic Schedule

MEDIA COVERAGE: All four matches the Fighting Sioux participate in at the UND Classic will be streamed live with an audio play-by-play and live stats on the school's official website - www.FightingSioux.com. The remaining five matches will have live stats and a video feed available on the website as well.

POSTER GIVE-AWAY: The first 1,000 fans at the Friday evening match against Gonzaga will receive the 2010 volleyball schedule poster. The Fighting Sioux players will also stay after the match for a brief autograph session.

THE CLASSIC FIELD: The 2010 North Dakota Classic is the first Division I tournament the Sioux have hosted since beginning the transition to the highest NCAA division prior to the 2008-09 season. The two-day event will see five DI squads play a total of nine matches at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Here is a look at the four opponents UND will entertain this weekend:

CAL-STATE BAKERSFIELD Head coach John Price is in his 14th season at the helm of CSUB program and is coming off a 14-17 season in 2009. This will be the first full season of DI status for CSUB and Price has two all-independent honorees back to anchor his 2010 squad. The junior duo of Alysia Baker (MB) and Lindy DeGeare (OH) are the top offensive threats for the Roadrunners. Baker led all DI independent players with a .293 attack percentage, while DeGeare led the same group in kills with 423.

DRAKE Drake and UND will meet for the first of two contests against each other in Grand Forks this weekend. The squads have never met before, but will play in respective tournaments that are being hosted by the schools during the opening two weekends of action. The Bulldogs are coached by Phil McDaniel, who is in his third season in Des Moines. Like the Sioux, Drake won 22 matches a season ago. Senior Angela Bys (OH) moved into second on the school's all-time kills list last season with 1,179 and needs only 53 more to tie the school mark. Sophomore Emily Hefferen earned All-MVC freshman team honors after posting 279 kills during her rookie season.

SAN JOSE STATE The Spartans return five starters from a team that went 1-27 under head coach Oscar Crespo. An SJSU alum, Crespo enters his fourth season on the job and has sophomore Taylor Japhet (OH) back after she racked up a team-high 249 kills last season as a rookie. Also back for Crespo is junior Kylie Miraldi (MB), who led the Spartans with 49 blocks.

GONZAGA The Bulldogs are the lone opponent this weekend that UND has faced on the volleyball court, taking a four-set decision from Gonzaga last year on the road.  UND dropped the first set 25-15 before running off three-straight set victories to claim the match (25-14, 25-18 and 25-22). Junior Devin Trefz had a team-high 13 kills, while departed senior Lindsay Vortherms added 20 digs and her classmate Megan Langseth had 40 assists.

The Bulldogs are led by senior captain Allyson Powell, who finished 2009 with a team-best 434 digs, 3.81 per set, which also was sixth-best in the West Coast Conference. Powell is the team's starting libero and has two classmates that will help her lead the squad. Senior Caitlin Cozad (OH) had 140 total blocks in 2009 - the eighth best total in school history.

WHAT'S BACK: Second-year head coach Ashley Hardee has seven letterwinners back from his 2009 Great West Championship club and three starters from that unit. Returning all-conference performers are junior outside hitters Devin Trefz (368 kills) and Annika Smed (308 kills). Senior Erin Joki also returns to her right side position as she was one of five different Sioux players to earn a Great West weekly accolade in 2009. Joki was fourth in kills (176) and fifth in total blocks (54) on the team. Senior Courtney Halvorson, a defensive specialist for most of her career, will move into the libero spot vacated by UND's all-time digs leader Lindsay Vortherms. Junior Tia Russell will also get more of an opportunity to play in the middle after the departure of senior middle blocker Britta Hanson, who finished on a number of top 10 career lists after a four-year career at UND.

WHAT'S NEW: The setter position that was held down by 2009 Great West Setter of the Year Megan Langseth will be occupied this season by a true freshman. Both Nikki Husfeldt and Ellen Krueger have been battling for that starting spot throughout fall camp and will probably both see action during the early portions of the schedule. Transfers Lisa Parlich (Colorado State) and Kaci Miller (San Jose State) add length to the club and will provide depth for the middle, as will redshirt freshman Ronni Munkeby. The true freshmen duo of Caitlin Schumacher and Erica Turner could also see action on the back row as defensive specialists.

GREAT WEST CHAMPS: With a five-set victory over South Dakota in the 2009 regular season finale, the Fighting Sioux clinched the first conference title in program history, finishing their inaugural season in the Great West with an 11-1 record. The win over the Coyotes sealed the outright title as UND finished one game ahead of Utah Valley, the only team to knock off the Sioux in league play this season. 

BETTY BE PERFECT: For the first time in program history, the Fighting Sioux went unblemished on their home court, winning all eight matches at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in 2009. Over the past two seasons, the Sioux have a 15-1 mark at "The Betty".

RECLASSIFIERS: There are currently 11 teams in Division I volleyball going through the reclassification process to make their respective moves up to the top level of collegiate volleyball official. In 2009, North Dakota had the second most wins amongst that group of programs with 22. The Sioux and Cal-State Bakersfield, who was third on the list with 14 wins a year ago, will square off Saturday at Noon as part of the classic schedule. The Roadrunners are in their first full season of DI eligibility.

Here is a look at the top five:

STREAKING SIOUX: After suffering their only conference loss of the season at Utah Valley on Oct. 1 last season, the Sioux closed out the campaign tying the school record with 12 straight wins. The loss to the Wolverines actually snapped a five-match winning streak, giving the Sioux wins in 15 of their last 16 matches in 2009.

BACK-TO-BACK: For just the fourth time in program history, the Sioux put together back-to-back 20 win seasons. The 2008 club posted a 24-8 record and its .750 winning percentage was tops in UND history until the 2009 edition established a new mark of .786 with a 22-6 record. The best back-to-back seasons in school history based on win totals was set by the 1989 and 1990 teams, who combined for 48 wins. Head coach Lisa Kissee led her 1989 team to a 22-19 record and backed that up with a 26-11 mark in 1990.

FIRST YEAR SUCCESS: UND head coach Ashley Hardee was one of five first-year head coaches at the Division I level to win at least 20 games in 2009. Hardee joined Arkansas State's Justin Ingram (22), Austin Peay's Mike Johnson (22), Illinois' Kevin Hambly (26) and UC-Irvine's Paula Weishoff (22) in that club.  His. 786 winning percentage (22-6) trailed only Hambly's tally of .813(26-6). 

FANS SHATTER BETTY ATTENDANCE MARK THREE TIMES IN 2009: It stood for just over a year, but the record for UND volleyball attendance at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center was eclipsed on three different occasions during the 2009 season. It was first set on Sept. 17 when 508 fans attended the home opener vs. Houston Baptist. Just over a month later, the tally was surpassed yet again on Oct. 23 when 891 fans came out for UND's annual 'Dig Pink' contest and the Sioux did not disappoint, sweeping New Jersey Institute of Technology to grab a share of first place in the Great West Conference. The Sioux fans also donated $898 for the Side Out Foundation from match proceeds. In the home finale against South Dakota, 1,000 fans saw UND defeated the Coyotes in five sets on Senior Day. The old mark entering the season was 500 set on Sept. 10, 2008, when the Sioux also swept its opposition - Valley City State. 

SWEEPING SUCCESS: The Fighting Sioux finished their inaugural season in Great West Conference play with a league-best 11-1 mark. Nine of those victories have came via the sweep and UND swept every team in the GWC except for Utah Valley - the Wolverines and Sioux played a five-set thriller won by UND on Oct. 31 and UVU defeated the Sioux 3-1 on Oct. 1. The team set a school record a season ago by registering 16 sweeps in 24 victories.

DOUBLE THREAT: It should come as little surprise that sophomore Annika Smed led the team with 10 double-doubles last season. One of the more versatile players on the team, Smed was the only Sioux player to surpass the 300-platuae this season in kills (308) and digs (331). Those figures ranked second on the team, respectively, and were good enough to be recognized as a second team All-Great West performer. 

TREFZ ON TOP: Junior Devin Trefz racked up a team leading 368 kills a season ago, setting an own personal best en route.  Her efforts also ranked second in the Great West Conference and earned her a spot on the league's all-conference first team. Trefz reached double figures kills in 25 of 28 matches in 2009.