Nikki Husfeldt prepares to serve the ball earlier this  season at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Photo by Jennifer Friese/The Dakota Student.

Heading into this weekend’s matchups, the UND women’s volleyball team carries with it a five-game win streak, along with a 16-5 record.

UND will go on the road this weekend with Big Sky matchups in the Southern division against Weber State and Idaho State.

Friday, UND will travel to Ogden, Utah to take on the Weber State Wildcats who, currently hold a 1-3 record in Big Sky play. UND will then travel Saturday for a matchup with the Idaho State Bengals, who are holding on to a strong conference record of 4-0.

Conference play began Sept. 25 for North Dakota with a 3-1 win over Eastern Washington — contributing to UND’s place atop the Northern Division in the Big Sky with its 4-0 record.

UND secured its second conference victory after it hosted the Idaho Vandals at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Sept. 27. The matchup was close, with Idaho getting a leg up on UND in the first set, winning 25-16. UND ended up rallying back, winning the final set 20-18 to secure the 3-2 victory.

North Dakota dominated in the blocking category, racking up 15 total blocks.  Idaho only finished with five. Sophomore Anna Pioske of Waconia, Minn., had a big day finishing with 16 kills for North Dakota.

Last Friday, UND rallied a victory  over the Montana Grizzlies, improving its conference record to 3-0. This also marked an impressive milestone for senior, Nikki Husfeldt.  Husfeldt, a native of Andover, Minn., produced 49 assists in the victory over Montana, surpassing the school record for career assists.

The record was previously held by Holly Welter, who tallied 4,695 assists in her career at UND. Husfeldt’s record-breaking play came on the senior’s 36th assist of the night.  Husfeldt currently sits on top of the UND record books with over 4,700 career assists.

UND claimed its fourth conference victory in dominating fashion with a 3-0 win over Montana State last Saturday, extending its current winning streak to five. North Dakota took the opening set and ran with it, winning it 25-12. But it didn’t let off there, winning the next two sets 25-20 and 25-18 to secure the win.

UND head coach Mark Pryor was impressed with his team.

“What I saw tonight was that we showed urgency,” he said. “We played with better mental effort in the first set. When we have four or five hitters hit for .260 or better, we have a chance to be in a lot of ball games.”

This marks UND’s ninth win via sweep this season. Lexi Robinson, a senior from Ramsey, Minn., put together a well-rounded game, leading all players with 13 kills and 16 digs. It was Robinson’s ninth double-double of the season, a team high.

North Dakota has had outstanding results in the Big Sky conference throughout the months of September and October. Over the last two seasons, the squad has an accumulated a record of 15-1 in the given months.

UND still has plenty of ball left to play, with twelve matchups remaining until it’s time for the Big Sky Conference Tournament in November.

With a favorable conference record, the UND women’s volleyball team will look to continue its win streak against Weber State this Friday.

Ben Novak is a staff writer for The Dakota Student.  He can be reached at [email protected].