WHAT'S GOOD?
*UND sits atop the Big Sky North Division (12-2) with two matches to play, with a one-game lead for the overall No. 1 seed.
*One win this week would clinch at least a Big Sky Conference regular season co-championship for UND.
*UND controls its own destiny for the #1 seed, winner of Thursday's match would hold the tiebreaker (UNC currently owns tiebreak over UND as well).
*North Dakota has qualified for the Big Sky Tournament for the fifth straight season
*Only four teams have made the league tournament every season from 2012-16 (UND's first season in the league):
(UND, Northern Colorado, NAU, Idaho State)
*North Dakota leads the conference in total digs (1,898) and ranks fifth in the nation in that category
*UND also sets the pace in team blocks (287.0), ranking seventh in NCAA D-1
*Mark Pryor is 34-12 all-time in Big Sky Conference play
*Faith Dooley (457) is 32 total blocks away from breaking the school's all-time blocks record (488- Karla Danielson).
ON TAP
Huge matchups await the Fighting Hawks this week as two of the contenders for the Big Sky Conference regular season crown and the top seed and right to host the league tournament. UND will battle Northern Arizona, who sits just a game back, on Thursday and then will get another team one game out as Northern Colorado visits the Betty on Saturday. Five teams are still in the running for at least a share of the league's regular season title.
ON DECK
Next week's Big Sky Conference Tournament begins Nov. 17 and runs through the 19th. The eight-team field will converge on the top seed's home floor, yet to be determined. The championship has been held in four different cities since North Dakota joined the conference (Flagstaff, Ariz.- 2015, Pocatello, Idaho- 2014, Portland, Ore,- 2013, Greeley, Colo.- 2012).
TWENTY WINS
North Dakota has clinched its fourth straight 20+ win season and its eighth in the last nine seasons. Since moving to NCAA Division I in 2008, UND has a combined record of 180-74 (.709). Prior to that, UND had just seven 20+ win seasons (from 1976-2007) and a winning percentage of .426.
WHERE THEY SIT:
Milestones upcoming for North Dakota players:
3000 assists- Sydney Griffin (2,599)
1000 kills- Faith Dooley (956) and Chelsea Moser (934)
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH THE LUMBERJACKS
Northern Arizona has won five of the six meetings all-time between the schools. All but one of the matches have been sweeps with UND's lone win a 3-0 decision in Grand Forks in the 2013 season.
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH THE BEARS
UNC owns wins in eight of the 10 meetings in the Division I era. UND's last win over the Bears was a 3-1 win in Grand Forks in 2014. Northern Colorado has won 35 of the 39 meetings all-time.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE BLOTTER
Tamara Merseli (11)
11/5/16 vs. Idaho 21 kills, 18 digs
10/28 at Montana 13 kills, 12 digs
10/21 at Idaho State 16 kills, 14 digs
10/15 vs Montana 14 kills, 17 digs
10/8 vs Portland State 16 kills, 30 digs
10/6 vs Sac State 10 kills, 28 digs
9/22 vs So. Utah 10 kills, 18 digs
9/14 at SDSU 10 kills, 12 digs
9/9 at Tulane 12 kills, 16 digs
8/30 at USD 15 kills, 13 digs
8/27 vs Ole Miss 13 kills, 17 digs
Sydney Griffin (9)
11/5 vs Idaho 48 assists, 13 digs
10/28 at Montana 40 assists, 13 digs
10/22 at Weber St 51 assists, 10 kills
10/21 at Idaho St 41 assists, 20 digs
10/6 vs Sac State 54 assists, 17 digs
9/14 at SDSU 42 assists, 13 digs
9/9 at Tulane 52 assists, 11 digs
9/8 at Clemson 39 assists, 20 digs
9/2 vs. UTEP 35 assists, 10 digs
Faith Dooley (1)
10/8 vs. Portland State 11 kills, 10 blocks
BACK-TO-BACK JACK
Tamara Merseli gave UND back-to-back Big Sky Conference Defensive Players of the Week thanks to her efforts Oct. 6-8 against Sacramento State and Portland State. She registered double-doubles in both wins, piling up 58 digs, including a career-best 30 in the Oct. 8 win vs. the Vikings.
YOU BETCHA!
North Dakota ranks 44th in all of NCAA Division I in average attendance with 1,105 per match this season. That total leads all Big Sky Conference schools. UND's home opener with Omaha drew 2,056 fans, the fourth-highest ever at the Betty for volleyball and best attended in a non-NDSU match.
Top 4 attended volleyball matches at the Betty
2,688 - Sep 30, 2013 vs NDSU
2,394 - Sep 6, 2011 vs NDSU
2,232 - Oct 13, 2015 vs NDSU
2,056 - Aug 26, 2016 vs Omaha
POWER TRIP
North Dakota zapped another “Power 5 Conference” school (team from the ACC, SEC, PAC-12, Big 10 or Big 12) with its 3-1 win over the ACC's Clemson on Sep. 8. UND previously downed Mississippi State from the SEC back in 2014.
LIV AND LET LIVE
Redshirt freshman Alivia Fraase was honored with the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week after her performances in road wins at Idaho and Eastern Washington, Sep. 29-30. She etched a new career high with 30 digs in the win over the Vandals and added 26 more against the Eagles to average 7.0 digs per set on the week. She is second in the league in digs per set in conference play this season (5.78).
TO ERR IS NOT NORTH DAKOTAN
In the Mark Pryor era at North Dakota, his team has made a habit of limiting attack errors. In fact, 15 times in his tenure UND has recorded single digits in that statistical category, including four already this season.
BECAUSE YOU GOT TO HAVE-A FAITH
Junior Faith Dooley moved into 3rd place all-time at UND in total blocks. She goes into this week with 457 total blocks in her three seasons.
total blocks
Career
1. Karla Danielson (1988-91) 488
2. Mindy Sutter (1985-88) 463
3. Faith Dooley (2014-) 457
Tara Holmen (2004-07) 457
5. Britta Hanson (2006-09) 447
RECORD REWIND
The University of North Dakota volleyball program holds a 683-750-3 (.476) record all-time since the first match was played on Sept. 22, 1976.
PUTTING TEAMS TO BETTY BYE
North Dakota is 109-44 (.712) all-time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, which opened prior to the 2004 season. Since 2008, UND is a staggering 87-18 (.829) including a school-record 13 wins in 2011. North Dakota is 42-10 (.808) at home the past four seasons.
WATCHBIGSKY.com
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.
UND ON THE INTERNET
UNDSports.com is the official online home of University of North Dakota athletics. UNDSports.com is a veritable one-stop shop for the most hard-core UND fan, featuring breaking news, feature stories, game notes, live and archived video webcasts, FREE audio, FREE live stats, podcasts, blogs, player profiles, merchandise, photo galleries, news feeds, camp registration and much, much more.
UND ON TV
Midco Sports Network will televise four UND volleyball matches as part of its broadcast deal that includes football, men's hockey, women's hockey, men's basketball and women's basketball. Fox Sports North will also pick up a handful of home matches and a key road tilt at Northern Arizona.
Midco Sports Network**
Aug 27 vs. Ole Miss Midco Sports Net
Aug 27 vs. UC Davis Midco Sports Net
Aug 30 at South Dakota Midco Sports Net
Sep 22 vs. Southern Utah Midco Sports Net
Fox Sports North**
Oct 6 vs. Sacramento State FOX Sports North
Oct 8 vs. Portland State FOX Sports North Plus
Oct 13 vs. Montana State FOX Sports North Plus
Nov 3 vs. Eastern Washington FOX Sports North Plus
Nov 10 at Northern Arizona FOX Sports North Plus
**All also air on FOX College Sports
BEK Broadcasting Network
Oct 26 at North Dakota State BEK (4.1 in GF)
See volleyball schedule page on UNDsports.com for channel numbers
