SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Ahead the season-opening tournament at Utah State, the University of North Dakota was prognosticated to finish eighth in this year's Summit League Coaches Poll. In addition, Lexi Ahrens and Darian Chwialkowski were named Players to Watch by The League.
 
The Fighting Hawks earned 23 points in the poll. Little separated Nos. 1 and 2 in the Coaches Poll with South Dakota claiming top honors with 78 points and six first-place votes, while Denver accounted for 76 points and four first-place nods.
 
Ahrens was UND's top-attacker last season, leading the Fighting Hawks in both kills per set (2.46) and attacking percentage (.248) while also pacing the squad in blocks per set at 0.68. The Virginia, Minn., product was named The Summit League Offensive Player of the Week after the Fighting Hawks sweep of Oral Roberts on Feb. 2. The senior averaged 2.94 points per set from the middle blocker spot.
 
In her first full season as North Dakota's libero in 2020-21, Chwialkowski led The Summit League in digs per set at a clip of 5.48 per set. She became only the second student-athlete to average over five digs per set in a season in the programs 40+ year history. She accumulated 20-or-more digs in nine of the Fighting Hawks 18 matches and recorded a career-high 34 at South Dakota state on March 13.
 
North Dakota will open the season on Friday, Aug. 27 at the Utah State Invitational in Logan, Utah. UND will open against the host Aggies at noon and follow up with a 7 p.m., match versus Seton Hall. The Fighting Hawks will close the tournament on Saturday at Weber State, serving at noon Central. Jeremiah Tiffin enters his third season on the UND bench.
 
For more news on UND Volleyball, visit FightingHawks.com. Follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by following @UNDvolleyball.