GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The University of North Dakota volleyball team defeated SeattleU, 3-1, on Saturday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center to complete a two-match sweep of the Redhawks this season. The Sioux (10-5) knocked off SU on the Redhawks' home court on Tuesday night, then finished off the home-and-home sweep with a hard-fought victory here tonight.
Sophomore Annika Smed (Albert Lea, Minn.) posted her fourth double-double of the season to lead the Sioux to their fifth-straight victory, which marks the longest win streak of the season for UND. Smed had a career-high 19 kills and added 14 digs.
The Sioux overcame a season-high 15 service errors and took advantage of 16 Redhawk attack errors to post the victory. UND hit .259 (54k-16e-147a), while holding SU to a .178 (55k-28e-152a) attack percentage.
"We put our defense in a tough spot by not serving the ball well, which kept us from going on long-point runs, but we stayed aggressive and were able to overcome that," first-year head coach Ashley Hardee said. "SeattleU is a great team and has played some really tough opponents, so we were fortunate to pick up two wins from them."
UND secured the first game, 25-18, behind six kills by senior Britta Hanson (Thompson, N.D.). Hanson missed on only one chance in the opening set and finished the match with a team-best .379 attack percentage (12k-1e-29a).
Smed had 13 kills in the final two sets, including eight in the third set, as UND took the momentum back after dropping the second game, 27-25. The Sioux had a four-point lead in that second set, but the Redhawks rallied from behind to even the match at one-game all.
"Annika was outstanding tonight and Britta had another great performance against these guys," Hardee added. "They both played really well and helped us put them away in some tight games there down the stretch."
Sophomore Devin Trefz (Bagley, Minn.) added 13 kills, giving her double-digit swats in all 15 matches. Senior Lindsay Vortherms (Windom, Minn.) had 25 digs, while classmate Megan Langseth moved into sixth place on the UND career list in assists after tallying 42 during the match. She now has 2,516 for her career.
Cristin Richards had 20 kills to lead the Redhawks, while Kaytlyn Dill added 10. Jamie Mellies had 42 assists to lead SU in that department.
The Sioux return to Great West play on Thursday when they travel to Orem, Utah to face Utah Valley for the first time in program history. The match with the preseason favorite Wolverines is scheduled for an 8 p.m. CT start.
