GREEN BAY, Wis.  - The University of North Dakota held its own against Dayton, the 19th-ranked team in the nation, but in the end, the Flyers came away with a 3-1 win to nab the first victory at the Green Bay/Country Inn and Suites Tournament.

"I really liked the way our team came out today in the first set," head coach Ashley Hardee said. "We were very aggressive and confident early in the match and it showed as we were able to separate ourselves and get ahead of them to win the first set."

UND won the initial set, 25-16, thanks to the trio of Devin Trefz (Sr., Bagley, Minn.) Annika Smed (Sr., Albert Lea, Minn.) and Lisa Parlich (So., Devalan, Wis.), who combined for 14 kills.

The Flyers evened things at 1-1 with a 25-12 win in the second set, then took the match with wins of 25-19 and 25-20 in the third and fourth sets, respectively.

"Give them credit. They fought back to even the match," Hardee said. "Then, in sets three and four we had some opportunities and a couple of chances to go on some good point runs and extend the game, but we weren't able to do it."

Trefz and Smed finished with 11 kills apiece and Parlich added another eight kills on 17 hits, and a team-high five blocks.

"Lisa had a great night both offensively, and defensively for us," Hardee said. "She was fantastic."

Redshirt freshman Nikki Husfeldt (Andover, Minn.) finished with 39 assists. Sophomore Erica Turner (Andover, Minn.) led the way with 15 digs, and Smed tallied her first double-double of the season.

"It was a great night for Annika, who just came off of an injury," Hardee said. "She is good for a double-double almost every night.

"We need to be able to compete for long stretches against great teams," Hardee said. "We competed early on in the first match to get ourselves a good lead, but we just weren't able to hold on and close the door. We will grow from this though and take some positives out of it. They are ranked 19th in the nation and we were able to take a set from them."

The Sioux are back in action tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. when they take on host Green Bay. UND will wrap up play in Green Bay against James Madison at 4:30 p.m. Links for live stats and a live video webcast can be found on www.FightingSioux.com, the home of Fighting Sioux athletics and on www.GreenBayPhoenix.com.

- Go Sioux -