Edinburg, Texas – For the second time this season, the University of North Dakota volleyball team swept Texas-Pan American, this time defeating the Broncs on their home court Thursday in Great West Conference play.
The Fighting Sioux (11-6, 3-1 GW) won for the sixth time in their last seven matches, while holding the Broncs (4-13, 2-4 GW) to a -.045 attack percentage (27k-32e-112a). Junior Erin Joki (Grand Rapids, Minn.) led a balanced Sioux offensive attack with eight kills.
She was one of six Sioux with at least three kills in the match. Senior Megan Langseth (Alexandria, Minn.) had 25 assists and classmate Lindsay Vortherms (Windom, Minn.) led the team with 14 digs.
“We
weren't great offensively tonight, but Erin provided a spark for us that we
needed,” UND head coach Ashley Hardee said. “Defensively, we played pretty
good, holding them to a negative attack percentage for the match was a good
effort by us.”
The Sioux took the opening set 25-19, thanks to a 5-0 run midway through that extended their lead to 16-10. Sophomore Devin Trefz (Bagley, Minn.) had five of her seven kills in the first set, while the UND defense combined for six blocks.
The second set was much tighter as UND rallied for a 26-24 victory. After jumping out to a 4-0 lead early in the second set, the Broncs surged ahead and actually held a 19-15 advantage late in the set before a pair of reserves capped the stellar comeback for UND.
Tied at 24-24, sophomore Tiara Russell (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) gave the Sioux a one-point lead with her first of three kills in the match. Classmate Taylor Bohannon (Inver Grove, Minn.) then finished off the Broncs with a service ace.
UND breezed through the third set to post a 25-14 victory. The Sioux added four blocks and 11 kills in the final set to pick up their fifth sweep of the season. Senior Britta Hanson (Thompson, N.D.) had six kills and five block assists, while sophomore Annika Smed (Albert Lea, Minn.) had a career-high three solo blocks to go with five kills and five digs.
The Sioux will remain in the Lone Star State for one for match as the team travels north to Houston on Saturday to face Houston Baptist in Great West Conference action. The match with the Huskies is slated for 1 p.m.
