How UND volleyball meshed returners and newcomers to go from worst to first in the Summit League
Oct. 12—GRAND FORKS — As one might expect with a first-year head coach taking over a volleyball team with one win the previous season, the Fighting Hawks brought in nine newcomers for the 17-member roster this year.
The process of meshing the returners and newcomers started over Zoom video chat before the two groups ever joined a gym together.
"I think the biggest thing was focusing on each other and our culture in the summer before we even met the new girls coming in," UND returning setter Elizabeth Norris said. "At one point, we were doing weekly game night over Zoom, playing Jeopardy or Apples to Apples to really get to know each other."
After winning one match and none in the Summit League all of last season, UND's five-set victory over North Dakota State in Fargo last Saturday placed the Fighting Hawks at 8-9 overall, 5-1 in Summit League play and in a three-way tie atop the conference standings.
"It was a learning curve for all of us," said UND's Sierra Ward, who transferred to Grand Forks after four years at NCAA Division II Black Hills State. "The returners were great about it. They were comforting and welcoming. The coaches have done a good job, too, making it easy."
After starting four years at Black Hills, Ward wanted to pursue a master's degree in chemistry, which Black Hills didn't provide. Ward knew UND had the chemistry program she wanted.
"I had heard good things about the new coaches, so I figured I'd message them and see if they were interested in taking me on the team," Ward said.
"Sierra is incredibly dynamic," UND first-year coach Jesse Tupac said. "She played four years and started four years at Black Hills, where she played as an outside hitter, a middle hitter and a right side. She really showed us she was so incredibly versatile, so we knew we could put her in a really good spot to contribute."
Ward has had seven kills in seven of her last eight matches. She's third on the team in kills with 122 on the season.
On the court, Tupac said there wasn't a great secret to meshing his newcomers and returners.
"Throw it together and see what sticks," Tupac said. "If you look at our non-conference, we played all 17 of our kids in the first three weekends. It was a great chance to find how everyone complemented each other. There was an exploration process through non-conference play but since conference play started we solidified our lineup."
Ashlyn Olson, a sophomore from New Spicer, Minn., was UND's top returning offensive threat from 2021. Olson leads the Hawks this year with 142 kills.
Norris, a junior from Corunna, Mich., is UND's versatile weapon. After setting exclusively a year ago, Norris is now hitting and setting. She had her second triple-double of the season against the Bison with a career-high 15 kills, 19 assists and 12 digs.
Florida State transfer Marissa Stockman has added 104 kills and a team-best 54 blocks.
Defensively, UND is led by Kortney Corney, a second-year UND player who transferred from North Dakota State College of Science. Corney has 214 digs this season. Against NDSU, Corney recorded 15 digs and 40 receptions with no reception errors.
UND travels to Omaha and Denver on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, to continue Summit League play.
"Coach Tupac always said we have the potential to do great things," Ward said. "He told us we can make a big turnaround in the program, and he was so passionate about it, so I'm not all too surprised. He was working hard, and we were working hard. He's big on being process-based. We try to focus on little things every day to get better than the wins and outcomes."
