Missoula, Mont. - The University of North Dakota volleyball team dropped both of its matches on Friday at the Montana Invitational, falling to Arizona State, 3-1 and the host Grizzlies, 3-2.
The Sioux (5-4) won the first set against the Sun Devils (6-2), but the Pac-10 school responded to take the next three sets to win the match (19-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-21). The match with Montana (4-5) was the first five-set contest of the season for UND as the Grizzlies rallied to win the fourth and fifth sets to post the victory (25-19, 20-25, 28-30, 25-22, 15-11).
"We put ourselves in a position to win both of the matches today, we just came up a little short and could not finish them out," UND head coach Ashley Hardee said. "We played well in stretches like we have all season, but we have to get better at closing these tight matches out when we have the chance."
Sophomores Devin Trefz (Bagley, Minn.) and Annika Smed (Albert Lea, Minn.) each had double-doubles for the Sioux in the loss to the Sun Devils. Trefz led the team with 16 kills and added a career-high 15 digs, while Smed had 15 kills and added 11 digs.
The Sioux trumped the Sun Devils 25-19 in the opening set as Smed led the way with five kills in the set as UND posted a .333 attack percentage (14k-3e-33a). The lead would be short-lived though as the Sun Devils regrouped and put the Sioux away, 25-15 in the second to set to even the match up.
In the third set, the Sioux appeared to be in control, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and holding a 17-10 advantage at one point in the set. However, the Sun Devils responded to the deficit and went on a 12-3 run to close out the match and take the set, 25-21.
UND squared the fourth set at 14-14 on an attack error by the Sun Devils, but the Pac-10 school would score the next four points and go on to post another 25-21 victory and clinch the match, 3-1.
Against Montana, the Sioux dropped the first set before bouncing back to take sets two and three from the Grizzlies. Smed had her second double-double of the day with 16 kills and 12 digs. Trefz once again led UND in kills with 18. Senior Megan Langseth (Alexandria, Minn.) had 43 assists in the five-set affair.
After a 25-20 victory in the second set, UND took the momentum by rallying in the third set for a 30-28 victory. It was the longest set of the season so far for the Sioux and Langseth secured the win by scoring on a quick attack.
UND carried the momentum into the beginning of the fourth set as the Sioux jumped out to yet a 6-1 advantage. The Sioux pushed their lead to 20-14, but Montana staged its own big rally to force a fifth set.
Down by those six points, the Grizzlies scored the next eight to build a two-point lead. The Sioux quickly tied the match at 22-22, but UM scored the next three points to send the match into a decisive set.
Montana jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth set, but the Sioux fought back to square the match at 5-5. The Sioux answered another run by the Grizz to trail only 11-10 down the stretch, but the home team scored four of the next five points to seal the victory.
The Fighting Sioux will wrap up tournament play on Saturday against SMU at 6 p.m. CT. It will be the first meeting between UND and the Mustangs in program history.
