2018 Season

[Teeder11]

7 minutes ago, Dustin said:

Was not at the game this afternoon, but I noticed both teams we've played (EWU and WCU) have winning records.  They must have played some pretty crappy teams, because they were basically pushovers for UND.

You're not wrong. I was there. WCU made it interesting at times, when UND would lose focus... but basically it was a run-away.

[Teeder11]

The new Williams kid, transfer from UCONN, is a treat to watch. If you can get out to the Betty this year, she is worth the price of admission, and the way she tandems with Jordan is lethal. The new setter from Finland is getting in sync with the others. Nieukirk and Ahrens are learning fast on their feet... both can kill with authority.  Also, the game has really slowed down for Lydia Rutton, and she is far more dominant than she ever was last year.

Lastly, pay attention to Williams (No. 0) when Pryor lets her jump serve, which was basically all match today.  Her serve is almost impossible to handle. Two times she rattled off like 8-9 services in a row with 2-3 aces each time.  Pryor tried this a couple years ago with the young Dominguez defensive specialist. Whereas, she was 50/50 to put it in the net, Williams will put it in the net now and again -- but she is far more consistent with a lot more heat behind it. 

[MDtoGF]

Kayla Williams came close to getting another double-double today. Superb effort in the afternoon match. Tonight against LA. Tech UND is facing a physical team that utilizes their size to their advantage. The battle of these two teams tonight will be fun to watch. Check out some more at the link. 

https://seamoresports.com/2018/08/31/second-straight-how-und-volleyball-earned-its-second-consecutive-sweep-at-the-und-classic/

[CMSioux]

I was at game this morning and also caught the last set of EW vs Louisiana Tech (I think EW won). Seemed to be the typical "invite teams that ensure you win your own tournament". UND was stronger and dominant - although they have a very tough non-conference schedule so it's probably nice to get a break at home. Looking at past history of this tournament there have been years they brought in some strong teams, if I remember right UND has won the tournament about 5 out of 7 times. 

[Dustin]

57 minutes ago, CMSioux said:

Seemed to be the typical "invite teams that ensure you win your own tournament".

Iowa state and Texas a&m have both played at the Betty in late August in years past, so we take good competition if we can get it. 

[MDtoGF]

A recap of the evening win for UND's sweep of the classic https://seamoresports.com/2018/09/01/rautio-and-williams-return-the-und-fighting-hawks-to-another-und-classic-championship/

[CMSioux]

23 hours ago, Dustin said:

Iowa state and Texas a&m have both played at the Betty in late August in years past, so we take good competition if we can get it. 

Not meant as a diss - there have been some very good teams, this year not one of them. Still very entertaining - love their passion for the game (a great reflection on the staff). 

[SiouxVolley]

USD actually beat Cal in Vermillion 3-1.  USD has only lost to Iowa St so far and Cal was unbeaten.  Cal was picked last in the always tough PAC12.

[Teeder11]

Love this quote about UND from the La. Tech coach.  Wasn't long ago that this is what folks would have been saying about the team from Fargo, and not us. Word is getting around.

"Tonight our team showed togetherness and the desire to compete for every point against a very talented team – a team with a very strong volleyball history," head coach Adriano de Souza noted. "Even trailing 2-0 in the match, we were still leading in kills. Missed serves, some hitting errors and missed opportunities in counter attack were what hurt us tonight. I like the steps our team is taking in order to consistently compete intelligently and harder for every point."
 

[kiyoat]

On 9/1/2018 at 10:58 PM, SiouxVolley said:

USD actually beat Cal in Vermillion 3-1.  USD has only lost to Iowa St so far and Cal was unbeaten.  Cal was picked last in the always tough PAC12.

Thanks for the mention.  Summit League VB should be very competitive this year with the addition of UND to challenge Denver's dominance.  Supposedly Omaha could be good this year as well, and I am very encouraged with the Yotes' progress so far, given that we have 3 freshman starters.  Both ND schools have more difficult non-con schedules than anyone else, so It's hard to judge strength fairly until we get into conference play.  Denver has 9 home games in the non-con.

Just a point of clarification: The ISU game was exhibition, and our one loss was to Northwestern, arguably a better opponent from a better conference than Cal.  Good luck @ Clemson!

[Teeder11]

3 minutes ago, kiyoat said:

Thanks for the mention.  Summit League VB should be very competitive this year with the addition of UND to challenge Denver's dominance.  Supposedly Omaha could be good this year as well, and I am very encouraged with the Yotes' progress so far, given that we have 3 freshman starters.  Both ND schools have more difficult non-con schedules than anyone else, so It's hard to judge strength fairly until we get into conference play.  Denver has 9 home games in the non-con.

Just a point of clarification: The ISU game was exhibition, and our one loss was to Northwestern, arguably a better opponent from a better conference than Cal.  Good luck @ Clemson!

Thanks for the info and insight!  Sounds like both our teams are very very young.  Good luck, Yotes

[UND Fan]

Going into the 5th set - tied 2-2 with Troy!  25-20, 15-25, 25-22, 19-25

[UND Fan]

We win 5th 15-12. 

[Dustin]

Lost both games today 3-0.  Sounds like some of the sets were competitive, but some weren’t.

[SiouxVolley]

Massey had us favored over both UAB and Clemson, but we got swept by both.

Dever and South Dakota seem like the only real competition is the Summit.

https://www.masseyratings.com/team.php?t=5538&s=302965

Will be interesting how much UND fall back.

[Dustin]

Volleyball girls split a pair of games in Jacksonville, FL yesterday and today.

[UND Fan]

4 minutes ago, Dustin said:

Volleyball girls split a pair of games in Jacksonville, FL yesterday and today.

I was at the games last night.  I think we were the better team but UNF was the better team last night.  It is obvious that the ladies are still learning to play with each other.    There is a lot of young talent on the team.  They will likely be pretty good by the time the conference season starts with a bright future over the next few years!  

[SiouxVolley]

UND is behind Charlotte currently, 2-1 in sets.  UND won the first set big, but have failed to maintain their standards as each set becomes more and more difficult.  Maybe it’s their youth.  The same pattern was evident in losses to Clemson and UAB and USF.

perhaps it’s coaching unable to adjust, but the youth of the team is more likely the cause.

[jdub27]

UND came back to win 3-2, sitting at 7-7 on the year. Could be a bit better but demanding schedule with a new, young team, I'm thinking coach is OK with it as long as they are learning. 

[SiouxVolley]

Pryor commented that UND volleyball finally showed resolve and teamwork to be able to comeback, as they showed against Charlotte.

Against New Orleans, the Privateers were ahead in the first set 24-20, but UND scored six straight points to win it.  New Orleans won the second set, but UND won’t the next two to get to 8-7 in non-conference.

They go on the road again next week for their first Summit matches against IPFW and W Illinois.  Like how this team is putting things together.

[kiyoat]

On 9/15/2018 at 12:36 PM, SiouxVolley said:

Pryor commented that UND volleyball finally showed resolve and teamwork to be able to comeback, as they showed against Charlotte.

Against New Orleans, the Privateers were ahead in the first set 24-20, but UND scored six straight points to win it.  New Orleans won the second set, but UND won’t the next two to get to 8-7 in non-conference.

They go on the road again next week for their first Summit matches against IPFW and W Illinois.  Like how this team is putting things together.

I would concur with your opinion that youth is playing a factor with your team, as well as a challenging non-conference schedule.  15 matches is 2 or 3 more than the rest of the Summit teams.  I would guess that is an advantage in terms of more live games = more reps.

Don't sleep on Fort Wayne, they have done very well in the non-con, and their schedule wasn't overly weak, either.  I haven't scouted them, so I don't know why they have done so well.  As to Western Illinois, they have only won one game so far.  Not sweeping them would raise some red flags IMO.

The Yotes have stumbled a little after a promising 5-1 start.  I'll guess that youth is a factor there, too, but who knows?  Denver has over-performed an average-weak non-con, and look fairly dominant at home.  That is significant, since the league tournament has been there for a few years.  Good luck.

[Dustin]

18 minutes ago, kiyoat said:

the league tournament has been there for a few years.

I'm glad you brought this up.  I've been wondering how the Summit League chooses its volleyball tournament host - is it regular season champion?

[kiyoat]

2 hours ago, Dustin said:

I'm glad you brought this up.  I've been wondering how the Summit League chooses its volleyball tournament host - is it regular season champion?

http://www.thesummitleague.org/RecordBook/2018-19_Summit_League_Record_Books/15_Volleyball.pdf

Yeah.  It looks like that has been the practice since 2008.  Before that it seems a little random.  maybe a rotation, or bids?  It's strange to me that Denver Volleyball has not grown its fan base along with the run of titles.  They still don't draw much.  I think that any of the Dakota-4 would increase a fan-base with that kind of sustained success. 

If the Yotes can ever win a regular season title (we were close the last two years) I think our fans would show up for hosting the SL tourney.  We have a decent VB venue with the new 6K seat SCSC.  I'm sure UND would support it as well.

[kiyoat]

If you go to the last page of the PDF in the previous link, you will see Attendance records for the VB tournament and championship game.

Total tournament attendance:

2,953 Fargo 2009

1,879 Fargo 2010

1,773 Indianapolis 2014

1,660 Tulsa 2006

1,316 Tulsa 2004

Championship Match:

1,615 NDSU vs Fort Wayne 2009

951 NDSU vs Fort Wayne 2010

802 Valpo vs ORU 2006 (in Tulsa)

673 Valpo vs ORU 2004 (in Tulsa)

587 ORU vs Valpo 2003 (in Tulsa)

- what you may notice here is that the championship games constitute almost half of the tourney attendance, and the championship game attendance isn't that much higher than a regular season home game.

The Indianapolis Tourney was boosted (IMO) by Fort Wayne fans adding to the IUIPUI fans due to distance.  SDSU has never hosted, despite having a regular season title back in 2007.  If any Dakota team hosted you would have lots of fans from at least two teams show up, and blow the records up.

[nodak651]

Hosting in the Dakotas makes sense.  

UND hosted the big sky tournament in 2016.  Not sure official total attendance.  But in the three games UND played, they recorded 727, 789, and 1,512 for official attendance for those games.  Totaling 3,028.