GRAND FORKS, N.D. - In a taste of what the Big Sky will bring next year, the Fighting Sioux (2-2) proved that they will be a heavy contender as they opened the 2011 home slate with an exciting 3-0 sweep over Montana (1-2). UND pounded out wins of 25-16, 25-18 and 25-12 to claim its first home victory of the season in front of a Betty Engelstad Sioux Center crowd of 703.
"Montana is a tough team," head coach Ashley Hardee said. "They were picked to finish third in the Big Sky, but that didn't matter tonight. I really liked how we started, especially at the service line. Erica Turner had a good run for us in the first set that gave us some separation."
A sophomore libero from Andover, Minn., Turner finished with a season-high three aces on the night and led the team with 11 digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Ronni Munkeby (Lisbon, N.D.) led the Sioux with nine kills on 22 swings for a .364 attack percentage. Seniors Annika Smed (OH, Albert Lea, Minn.) and Devin Trefz (OH, Bagley, Minn.), and sophomore Lisa Parlich (MB, Delavan, Wis.) finished with eight kills apiece. Setter Nikki Husfeldt (RFr., Andover, Minn.) tallied a team-high 34 assists.
At the net, senior middle blocker Tia Russell (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) tallied five blocks (one solo) and Husfeldt added four block assists. As a team, the Sioux out-blocked the Grizzlies 10-1.
"We put up some big blocking numbers today and a lot of that had to do with our serving," said Hardee. "We are a tall and physical team. We can attack it from several inches above the net and it's hard for opponents to get to us. If we can keep it consistent, we'll be a very difficult team to stop."
In the opening set, the Grizzlies scored the first, but the Sioux quickly took the lead and control.
After knotting the frame at 3-3, UND went on an 11-1 run to extend the margin to 14-4. Trefz led the charge with four kills.
The Grizzlies tightened the gap to 15-9, but with costly errors down the stretch and a hot-handed Parlich on the opposite side of the net, Montana couldn't rally a comeback. Parlich, a native of Delavan, Wis., landed the final three kills of the set to give UND the 25-16 victory.
In the second set, the Sioux got off to a quick 4-0 start on a trio of kills and a Montana error. The Grizzlies brought the set to an 8-8 tie and then remained close for a stretch until errors once again allowed UND to pull away. Leading 21-16, Smed and Russell teamed up for a vital block and then Smed proceeded to slam down the final two kills to give UND the 25-18 win and a 2-0 lead.
The score remained tight to open the final set, until once again the Grizzlies became plagued by errors. Montana went from trailing 11-9 to falling behind 20-10 due to five attack errors and a pair of poor sets. Taking full advantage of the situation and never backing down, UND outscored the Griz 5-2 in the final minutes to win the set 25-12 and take the match 3-0.
Montana will face Southern Utah tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. The Sioux will follow at 1 p.m. against Green Bay.
- Go Sioux -
