BISMARCK, N.D. -- Bismarck State volleyball returns home Saturday night to christen the Bavendick Center, hosting Mount Marty (S.D.) in the first-ever volleyball match played in the building.

The Mystics enter the contest at 2-2 on the season after splitting their four matches at the Siouxland Invitational, a weekend that saw junior setter Aislyn Hogan earn Frontier Conference Setter of the Week honors. Mount Marty comes to Bismarck at 4-4, having won its last match on Aug. 22 against Goshen (Ind.), 3-0. They dropped a 3-2 decision to Frontier Conference foe Montana Tech on Aug. 15.

Head coach Kyle Kuether says this year's group carries a different mindset into the home opener than the team that finished BSC's inaugural NAIA season a year ago.

"This year's team is a year older than last year's, simply put," Kuether said. "We know what the conference is and what we had to work on and improve this past spring. I think the girls are more bought in and are putting more responsibility on themselves. Our block is better, our transition game is faster, and overall, we are just a more put-together team than last year."



How BSC Stacks Up

Through four matches, the Mystics are hitting .139 as a team, averaging 11.5 kills, 10.7 assists, 2.4 aces and 14.3 digs per set. BSC has out-hit its opponents .139 to .129 on the season and holds an edge in digs per set (14.3 to 13.3), though the Mystics have been out-blocked (1.4 to 1.5 per set).

Junior Reese Duchsherer paces BSC in kills (52) and points (57.5) through four matches, while Aislyn Hogan leads the team with 133 assists to go with a team-high 10.0 total blocks. Piper Harris tops the Mystics with 58 digs, and Aubrey Flynn leads the team with 10 service aces.

Scouting Mount Marty

The Lancers hit .149 as a team this season, averaging 10.87 kills, 9.90 assists, 1.84 blocks and 15.29 digs per set. Mount Marty splits time at setter between Brianna Even (135 assists, 4.35 per set) and Maycee Williams (123 assists, 3.97 per set), giving the Lancers two different looks running their offense.

Up front, junior Jaya Wachholtz leads Mount Marty with 93 kills and a team-high 3.00 kills per set, while Caitlin Guenther follows with 78 kills at a .249 clip and a team-best 22 total blocks. Adisyn Indahl adds 56 kills and doubles as a defensive threat, ranking second on the team with 91 digs. Senior Kate Tollinger paces the Lancers' back row with 111 digs, and Taylor Dobrenz leads the team with 10 service aces.

Keys for BSC

Kuether pointed to serving and passing as the deciding factor in his team's matches at the Siouxland Invitational, and expects the same to hold true Saturday.

"Serve and pass -- again, keep it simple," Kuether said. "The team that can serve more aggressively and pass more consistently is usually going to win. We did both in the two wins and also did a great job of it in the second loss of the day, but ended up just a couple points shy."

Kuether also pointed to his team's growth in high-pressure moments as a sign of progress from a season ago.

"I was extremely proud of how this team was able to make adjustments," Kuether said. "Last year's team would have folded under the pressure, but this year's team proved that we can play with a lead and from behind. We just have to keep improving on the little things."

JV Team Hosts Mystics Invite

BSC's junior varsity squad is also in action this week, hosting its first home tournament, the Mystics Invite, across Friday and Saturday. The JV Mystics open Friday against Miles Community (Mont.) at 3 p.m. and Williston State (N.D.) at 7 p.m., both at the Bavendick Center, before wrapping up Saturday against Dakota College at Bottineau (N.D.) at 9 a.m. at the Armory and Dawson Community (Mont.) at 3 p.m. back at the Bavendick Center.

Kuether said the excitement around the week extends beyond Saturday's varsity opener to the JV team's tournament as well, and pointed to the group's debut performance at the Siouxland Invitational as a sign of what's ahead.

"I was so happy for the JV team -- they were having a lot of fun and just getting to play," Kuether said. "That's how a JV team should be. It was so fun to see their personalities come out. I think they showed a lot of promise and shocked the other teams that don't know who the Mystics are."


Fans are encouraged to be among the first 1,000 through the door at the varsity game to receive a commemorative rally towel marking the occasion. First serve for the varsity match against Mount Marty is set for 6 p.m. Saturday at the Bavendick Center. Visit BSCMystics.com/Tickets for more information.