This Week                 
Coming off a tough week against back-to-back unbeaten opponents in conference play, the University of North Dakota volleyball team prepares for another three-match week. On Tuesday, UND makes its final nonconference trip of the season to battle No. 6 and unbeaten Pittsburgh before squaring off against in-state rival North Dakota State for the second time this season on Friday evening in Fargo. The Fighting Hawks conclude the weekend with a home match against South Dakota on Sunday at 2 p.m. in their annual #SetTheExpectation match. 

Broadcast Coverage                 
All 11 UND home matches will be televised on MidcoSN and FOX Sports North for the first time in program history. The Fighting Hawks become the only team in The Summit League to every home contest carried on TV. 

Tuesday's showdown with the Panthers can be seen live on ACC Network Extra through the WatchESPN platform. Friday's matchup with the Bison can only be watched via a stream on GoBison.com but can be heard on Bison 1660 AM and 92.7 FM in the Fargo area. Sunday's tilt with the Coyotes will air live on FOX Sports North as Mitch Wigness and Angie Stokke have the call. Web and mobile streamers can catch the action on the FOX Sports GO app and on ESPN+.

Social Media                 
Receive live updates during all UND volleyball games by following @UNDVolleyball on Twitter. Fans can also watch in-game highlights, postgame interviews, and much more through UND Insider on Twitter (@UNDInsider) or online at FightingHawks.com

#SetTheExpectation             
In a department-wide partnership with Brenda Tracy, the University of North Dakota volleyball team will be donning purple and teal for its annual #SetTheExpectation match on Sunday against USD. 

Tracy, herself a sexual assault survivor, is making her second visit to the UND campus after having initially brought her message to UND's student-athletes earlier this year. For more information on Brenda Tracy and the Set the Expectation campaign, visit BrendayTracy.com.

Series History vs. Pittsburgh    
Tuesday marks the first-ever meeting between North Dakota and Pitt. This season, UND is 7-2 when playing opponents for the first time in its history. 

The No. 6 ranking for the Panthers is the third-highest rated opponent that UND has faced in the regular season since moving to DI in 2008.

Division I meetings between UND and ranked opponents:
12/1/17    at No. 8 Minnesota*        L, 3-0
11/22/17    at No. 22 Iowa State        L, 3-0
12/2/16    at No. 1 Minnesota*        L, 3-0
9/16/16    at No. 3 Minnesota        L, 3-1
8/29/15    at No. 21 Iowa State        L, 3-1
8/30/13    No. 15 Iowa State        L, 3-0
8/24/12    vs. No. 5 USC        L, 3-0

*Denotes NCAA Tournament match

Series History vs. NDSU    
North Dakota State has won 70 of the 81 meetings in the all-time series, but UND continues to dominate the rivalry in the DI era. 
With the win over NDSU on Sept. 26, the Hawks are now 7-2 against the Bison since 2010 and have won four straight, dropping only two sets in that span.

Playing in Fargo has not been kind to UND, however, as the series is tied 2-2 since 2010 when battling down south. 

Friday will mark the first time since 2003 that the programs have met twice in a season as the Bison swept the Fighting Sioux in all three contests that year, including a 3-0 win in the NCC Tournament.

Division I meetings between UND/NDSU:
9/26/18    NDSU    W, 3-2
9/6/17     NDSU     W, 3-0
10/25/16     at NDSU     W, 3-0
10/13/15     NDSU     W, 3-0
9/9/14     at NDSU     L, 1-3
9/30/13     NDSU     W, 3-0
10/9/12     at NDSU     W, 3-0
9/6/11     NDSU     W, 3-1
9/16/10     at NDSU     L, 0-3

Series History vs. USD    
North Dakota and South Dakota are set to meet on the volleyball court for the 78th time on Sunday afternoon with UND holding a 52-25 advantage in the series. 

The DI era has also been in favor of the Fighting Hawks, winning 12 of the 17 meetings since 2008. 

At the Betty, UND is a whopping 8-3 since the building opened in 2004 and has won six straight.

Sunday also marks the first meeting as conference mates since a 3-2 Sioux victory in Vermillion on 11/1/11 when both were members of the Great West Conference.  

Division I meetings between UND/USD:
8/30/16    at USD    L, 3-1
9/11/15    USD    W, 3-0
9/6/14    USD    W, 3-1
9/5/14    USD    W, 3-2
9/16/13    at USD    L, 3-1
8/31/12    USD    W, 3-0
11/1/11    at USD    W, 3-2
11/21/10    vs. USD*    W, 3-1
10/14/10    USD    W, 3-1
9/25/10    at USD    W, 3-0
9/18/10    vs. USD$    W, 3-0
11/20/09    vs. USD*    W, 3-0
11/14/09    USD    W, 3-2
10/15/09    at USD    W, 3-0
11/8/08    USD    L, 3-0
11/1/08    at USD    L, 3-1
10/11/08    vs. USD#    L, 3-2

*Great West Conference Tournament match
$ Match played in Fargo, N.D.
# Match played in Seattle, Wash.

Gimmie Five    
UND is 22-9 in five-set matches in the tenure of fifth-year coach Mark Pryor. In his last three schools along his head coaching stops, Pryor has a improbable 35-12 record in five-set matches. Last season, UND went 5-3 in five-set contests, including winning three of its first five matches by a 3-2 score and claiming the Big Sky Conference Tournament title in five sets.

The Fighting Hawks are 5-1 this season in five-set thrillers, defeating Troy, Charlotte, Western Illinois, and North Dakota State and falling in North Florida.

Four of UND's last six wins have come in five sets; a first in program history.  

With the win over South Dakota State (Sept. 29), UND snapped a streak of 12 straight matches without a win via the sweep, it's longest stretch since 2007.

2-3-4-5-6    
North Dakota found itself among the leaders in the country in several team categories last season. The Fighting Hawks were second in total digs (2,530), third in total attacks (5,239), fourth in total blocks (372.5), fifth in total kills (1,851) and sixth in assists (1,739) in all of NCAA Division I.

This season, UND is second in total digs (1,409), third in total attacks (3,083), ninth in kills (1,039), 10th in assists (967), and 26th in blocks (177.5).

Ya Dig?    
North Dakota has been among the nation's top teams in total digs in all four years under head coach Mark Pryor.  The top four single-season dig leaders also come from each of the past four years with McKenzie Hart and Alivia Fraase establishing the first through fourth-best single season numbers in that statistic.

Ya I Dig!    
Junior Alivia Fraase surpassed the 1,000 career dig mark on Oct. 30, 2017 against Iowa State. She became the 19th UND player to surpass that mark but just the second to do so as a sophomore (Lauren Clarke, 1,051 from 2012-13). Fraase's 583-dig total in 2016 was tied for second-best at the school in a single season and she added 567 last season, a total that is fourth-highest in a single season at UND 

Fraase currently ranks second on the team with 250 total digs and and also with 3.13 digs per set.  

Watch Me    
UND saw a trio of players named as players to watch in the conference this season with Jordan Vail, Kayla Williams, and Ashley Brueggeman each earning recognition.

Vail-ure To Yield    
Jordan Vail returns after earning All-Big Sky First Team accolades following her 311 kills, 31 digs, and 128 total blocks as a junior. The San Antonio native hit at a whopping .342 clip in 2017, which marked the fourth-highest single-season hitting percentage in program history. The senior closed last year with double-digit kills in 13 of the team's final 16 matches, including 14 on just 23 swings (.565) in the 3-2 victory over Sacramento State in the conference title match.

The senior was huge in the matches against Green Bay (Aug. 26) and TCU (Aug. 26), tying for the team lead in kills (15) and helping UND tally eight rejections against the Horned Frogs.

Vail was a force in the team's win over Eastern Washington (Aug. 30), recording a then-career-high in block assists (eight) and kills (16).

The senior was dominant in the victory over North Dakota State (Sept. 26), eclipsing a new career high in kills with 19. Vail hit a season-high .567 for the match, the most by a UND player with at least 19 kills since Lisa Parlich hit .568 and recorded 23 kills against Florida A&M on Sept. 13, 2013.

Vail led the team in kills with 10 in the 3-0 victory over South Dakota State (Sept. 29). 

Following her solid three-match performance, Vail was named as the Summit League's Offensive Player of the Week for the first time this season.

In conference action this season, Vail is hitting at a .340 clip while also registering 3.10 kills per set.

The San Antonio native's 93 total blocks this season ranks 14th in the nation and leads the Summit League. Also, Vail's 1.11 blocks per set is tied for second in the conference and has multiple rejections in all but two contests this year.

Brueggeman Brewing    
Brueggeman saw action in all 38 matches last season for the Fighting Hawks. After battling an illness in the season opener, Brueggeman was solid against Green Bay and TCU (Aug. 26), recording 13 kills in the win over the Phoenix. 

The junior continues to be a force from the right side, recording 17 kills at North Florida (Sept. 10) and nine kills on just 21 swings against Jacksonville (Sept. 11). 

In the 3-2 victory over Western Illinois (Sept. 21), Brueggeman finished second on the team with 14 kills while also adding a pair of rejections and two block assists. 

Brueggeman has hit at a .200 or better clip in 15 matches this season, including four at .300 or better.

Flourishing Flores    
Freshman Taliyah Flores has not disappointed as the rookie has become a strong defensive piece for UND. 

The Papillion, Neb., native has 18 matches with double-digit digs, including 15 straight. 

In the victory over Charlotte (Sept. 14), Flores tallied 36 digs which is the most since McKenzie Hart's 50 against Southern Utah in 2015. 

Flores then followed up the feat with another 36-dig performance in the five-set win over Western Illinois (Sept. 21) becoming the first player since Hart to tally 35+ digs in multiple matches in the same season.

The freshman was named to the USF All-Tournament Team and given Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honors after finishing with 123 total digs and a 5.86 per set average during the week. 

The Paillion, Neb., native reached the 30-dig plateau for the third time this season with 30 against North Dakota State (Sept. 26) and followed it up with another 30-dig performance in the win over Oral Roberts (Sept. 28).

After recording a match-high 15 digs against South Dakota State (Sept. 29), Flores was named the Summit League's Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.

The freshman tallied a pair of 20+ performances against Omaha (Oct. 5) and Denver (Oct. 7) for her seventh and eighth times reaching the 20-dig plateau.

Flores currently ranks 11th in the nation and leads the Summit League with 393 total digs as well as third in the conference with 4.68 digs per set. 


Fin-Tastic    
Taking over for one of the best setters in program history, Roosa Rautio has been strong for the Fighting Hawks  this season. 

Her 866 total assists are second in the nation and lead the conference while her 10.31 assists per set rank 61st in the nation and second in the Summit.

Rautio has six double-doubles this season, the second most behind teammate Kayla Williams. 

The freshman's 61 helpers in the triumph vs. NDSU (Sept. 26) is a new career best as well as the 18th most by a Division I player this season.

Rautio tallied her first double-double since Sept. 8 at Clemson in the 3-2 victory over Oral Roberts (Sept. 28). 

Rautio has now recorded 40 or more assists in five of the last nine matches and has not recorded fewer than 30 since  Sept. 14.

A Brand "Nieu" Attack    
Brynn Nieukirk has been settling into her role as an another offensive weapon for the Fighting Hawks this season. 

The freshman finished with a career-high 18 kills in the 3-2 win over NDSU (Sept. 26), eclipsing her previous best of 15 against Charlotte (Sept. 14). 

Nieukirk has now recorded double-digit kills in five of her last nine contests.


Ran Into A Rutten    
Lydia Rutten became the third Fighting Hawk to set a new career-high in kills in the team's victory over the Bison (Sept. 26) as the sophomore tallied 11, passing her previous high of 10 against New Orleans (Sept. 15).

The sophomore followed up her career-high performance with another personal best against Oral Roberts (Sept. 28) with 12 kills on just 24 swings. 

The New York Mills native capped off her strong week with seven kills and hitting a team-high .438 among players with at least five kills against South Dakota State (Sept. 29).

Rutten in third on the team in hitting percentage (.209) among players with at least 10 kills and has reached double figures three times this season.


FULL PDF NOTES ARE AVAILABLE HERE