Dustin

Wasn't expecting much of a challenge tonight, and I'm glad they proved me right. Now on to Northern Arizona!

I wonder how much it would cost to buy out the "exclusive" clause of the CBSSN contract.

Yeah I'm not saying it would happen, it would just be cool if it did. We already have 3 volleyball games on TV this year, which is 3 more than most volleyball programs can say.

ESPNU does college volleyball every Wednesday night. It would be cool to have them do game from the Betty.

Also of interest, the men's basketball team is playing at the University of Oregon tournament in Eugene the same weekend as the Big Sky volleyball championship in Portland.

Wins over E. Washington and Portland St. bumped our RPI to 109 this week. Highest in Big Sky is still Portland St. at 98.

For any first timers at the game today, I would say, as a volleyball regular, that it was an atypical performance and atmosphere. It was more of a chess match with all the tips and trick shots, instead of UND imposing their will. And the noon start time made for a more reserved crowd. Maybe it was just nervousness by the crowd with the result in question. I actually was hoping for a little bigger crowd considering the importance of the game. Anyway, the almost let a 2-0 start slip away, but this team, in contrast to a year ago, knows how to win. With the exception of some dynamite kills from #6, I didn't see anything that the defense couldn't handle.

Don't be surprised. It should be a great showcase of college volleyball to, what I hope will be, a great homecoming crowd. These ladies deserve our support.

Agreed about being sharper. Some, but not all, was the fact that Hardee used several reserves tonight. I'm sure he'll stick with his main 8or9 girls on Saturday, but they will have to be on their game. Should be a great showcase of college volleyball on Saturday.

Let's give the girls a nice welcome home party this Thursday night, and again Saturday afternoon! If I remember correctly, UND did not beat UNC last season, so this was sweet on multiple levels.

Just wanted to point out, that game is Oct. 12. It will be against Portland State, who also is currently 4-0 in Big Sky play. Hopefully a homecoming crowd makes for a nice turn-out, in what will likely be a very significent match for the regular season.

Hardee did a very cool thing and let every native North Dakotan (with the exception of Kellie Schmidt, who I'm suspecting is red shirting this season) play at least one serve.

I was surprised too that South Dakota beat them, but I think USD is the team to beat in the Summit League this year.

Very nice way to start the conference season. The girls looked like they had it together tonight, even after being on the road for nearly a month. Very excited to have them at home next week! Could be a rewarding season

Yes, same channel. Wonder if UND can do themselves a big favor and win that game on national television?

Exactly. You'd at least think that we could get a home game with Northern Iowa every other year.

Nice! Not sure what kind of team Fla. A&M is, but a road win is always good.

Getting back to your original post: Choice of conference was easy - Big Sky offered, Missouri Valley didn't. UND was being courted by the Summit League for non-football sports, but MVFC was not part of that deal. After UND accepted Big Sky offer, it looked as though South Dakota would too, and then MVFC made it a package deal with the Summit, and USD went there with the xDSU's. Overall, I think most UND fans are happy with the Big Sky over the Summit/MVFC. Live video of all football, basketball, and volleyball games is great, and at no cost to the fans. We also are happy with the conference stability over the Summit. I think Doug Fullerton has done a good job positioning the Big Sky for when the inevitable 3-tier D-1 football system happens. Adding the other Dakota schools to the Big Sky would be looked at favorably by UND, but I think the other Dakota schools love the MVFC. As for conference aspirations, I know full membership in the Missouri Valley would a dream come true for NDSU, although UND people are convinced that would never happen. As for the nickname, that saga is long and drawn out. Long story short - Fighting Sioux was on the NCAA list of offensive names back in 2005. UND and various nickname supporters tried (how hard depends on who you ask) to keep the name without sanctions from the NCAA, but to no avail. After 7 years of oftentimes ugly disagreement, the issue was finally put to rest in 2012 when 2/3 of North Dakotans voted to retire the name. Most are sad that it is gone. Most are content with no nickname being better than a new nickname (at least for right now.) UND overall is a proud athletics school with 11 national championship in 3 sports, including 1 in D-II football. I can assure you that contending for a national championship in FCS football is a high priority of the athletic department.

So this brings about an interesting discussion: If UND still has a contract with FCS, why would select non-hockey events be broadcast while hockey games not broadcast. I would think viewership would be highest for hockey games. Now, I know that CBSSN has NCHC national rights, but there are non-conference games that would apply. Anyway, it's good for the non-hockey sports that they will get some national coverage, as well as good regional coverage. I'm anxious to see what MidcoSN broadcast schedule for the season is.

NDSU at home this year, too, right? Any other OOC games known?

UND won the game that was on Root Sports last year (over Montana), but there weren't many other games that would turn heads of Root Sports programming directors and say "We need more games with North Dakota." Win a Big Sky title, and that will change. (I hope). On a related note, was a Midco subscriber able to watch that game last year? I was in Bismarck watching on satellite.

The same could be said for basketball, but everyone likes a Cinderella story, right? So let the Bemidji States of the college hockey world be a Cinderella. All the reasons you state benefit the dozen or so perennial NCAA hockey powers, but don't do much to create additional interest in the game.

Not sure why so many people think best-of-three series are needed for the tournament. If you're the better team, you shouldn't need three games to prove it - go out there and win the damn game! If you can't get geared up to win one game when it counts the most, then you deserve to lose. I think the 16-team single-elimination format is the right way to go - just let the #1 seeds host the regionals and the attendance problems are solved.

Someone who knows more about this site should start a new topic for 2013 Volleyball.

Weber State playing for the CIT championship right now on CBS Sports Network.