Laramie, Wyo. – The University of North Dakota volleyball team secured a 3-1 victory over Montana State on Saturday in the final day of the UniWyo Cowgirl Invite. The Fighting Sioux improved their record to 5-2 on the campaign and finished the tournament with a 1-2 ledger after dealing the Bobcats their sixth-straight defeat.
Sophomore Devin Trefz (Bagley, Minn.) paced the Sioux with a career-high 21 kills as the team registered a season-high 59 in the four-set victory (25-17, 25-18, 22-25 and 25-19). Senior Megan Langseth (Alexandria, Minn.) had a season-high 55 assists as UND finished with a .213 attack percentage.
Sophomore Annika Smed (Albert Lea, Minn.) and senior Britta Hanson (Thompson, N.D.) also reached double figures in kills, finishing with 14 and 11, respectively. Hanson led the team with a .588 attack percentage after finishing off 11 of her 17 total attacks and was the lone Sioux to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
“Our middles played great tonight,” UND head coach Ashley Hardee said. “Both Britta (Hanson) and Amanda (Polzin) did a nice job offensively. Annika (Smed) had a nice game on the back row as well with 21 digs, which was a great night for her.”
Hanson also added five block assists to move into sixth place on the UND career charts in that category with 273. Hanson combined for 21 block assists in Friday's action and finished the three-match tournament with 26.
Smed and senior libero Lindsay Vortherms (Windom, Minn.) were also active on the defensive end, combining for 44 digs. Smed tallied a season-high 21, while Vortherms led the team for the seventh-straight match with 23.
The opening portion of the first two sets was tightly contested with the Sioux holding identical 13-12 advantages in both before closing them each out with strongs run to build a two-set advantage. The Bobcats rallied to force a fourth set by taking the third one by a score of 25-22, but UND secured its fifth win of the season with another strong finish.
Senior Amanda Polzin (Hutchinson, Minn.) sealed the victory with her ninth kill on just 16 chances in the match.
UND will head West again next weekend for a similar tournament hosted by the University of Montana. The Fighting Sioux will play three matches in the two-day event in Missoula, Mont., facing Arizona State and Montana on Friday before concluding the tournament vs. Southern Methodist on Saturday.
