GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The University of North Dakota volleyball team won its fifth straight match with a convincing sweep of New Jersey Institute of Technology on Friday in its annual 'Dig Pink' contest at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
The Fighting Sioux (15-6, 6-1 GW) knocked off the Highlanders (14-6, 4-1 GW), who were the lone unbeaten team remaining in Great West Conference play, by the score of 25-20, 25-15 and 25-11. All five of UND's wins in league play have come via the sweep as the Sioux blanked NJIT in front of a record crowd of 891 on their home court. The victory also puts UND on top of the league standings with a 6-1 mark.
"I have a huge amount of respect for NJIT and the way they play volleyball, but we were firing on all cylinders tonight and when we do that it is very difficult to stop us," UND head coach Ashley Hardee said. "Megan (Langseth) did a nice job of spreading the ball around and our right-side attack from Erin (Joki) and Amanda (Polzin) was excellent tonight."
Langseth (Alexandria, Minn.) registered her third double-double of the season with 36 assists and 10 digs in the contest. Her 36 assists helped the Sioux out-kill the Highlanders 46-25 in the match and outhit the visitors .240 (46k-15e-129a) to .031 (25k-21e-131a).
Langseth was one of four Sioux players to reach double figures in digs as the club set a season-high in that category with 79. Sophomore Annika Smed (Albert Lea, Minn.) was one kill shy of a double-double as she finished the contest with a team-high 19 digs and a nine successful attacks.
Senior Lindsay Vortherms (Windom, Minn.), who set the UND career record in the team's last match, added 18 digs and sophomore Taylor Bohannon (Inver Grove, Minn.) tallied a season-high 13.
Sophomore Devin Trefz (Bagley, Minn.) led the offensive attack for the Sioux with 14 kills on 38 swings. Junior Erin Joki (Grand Rapids, Minn.) added nine kills, while senior Amanda Polzin (Hutchinson, Minn.) registered eight.
The Highlanders tried to make a game of the opening set, pulling with 21-19, but UND closed out the game with a 4-1 run to post the five-point victory. The Sioux were never seriously challenged after that, rolling to double-digit wins in sets two and three.
The Sioux finished off the second set with a 9-2 run and opened the third set with an 14-3 run to secure their 10th win in their last 11 matches.
UND held an 11-4 advantage in blocks as Langseth and Joki each had four total blocks to lead the Sioux.
The Fighting Sioux continue their three-game homestand on Sunday afternoon with a Great West Conference match against Chicago State at 2 p.m.
