Women's Volleyball 9/3/2011 10:57:00 PM Christy Kramer, UND Athletic Media Relations

Sioux take out Thunderbirds in three sets

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Short and sweet. That's the route the Fighting Sioux took as they swept Southern Utah and claimed the 2011 UND Classic championship title outright. It was the third sweep in three matches as the Sioux went undefeated over the weekend.

"Last weekend, it was about finishing our volleyball games," head coach Ashley Hardee said. "This weekend it more about exerting ourselves and being a physical threat.

"We look to average three blocks per set, and this weekend we surpassed that. That's a big deal. It's almost like we are a limitless defense coming at you. It starts with our blocks and then we have the rest of the team in the back taking care of anything behind the net. When we can be on time, and take up a good amount of space, it is very difficult to score on us."

Finishing with 26 kills, 24 digs and eight blocks (one solo), senior outside hitter Annika Smed was named the tournament MVP.

"Annika had a solid weekend," said Hardee. "She was a little banged up last weekend in Green Bay, but with enough rest, she was able to bounce back this weekend."

"Overall, we had a great tournament," Smed said. "We came out strong, served tough and really played well together.

"It was fun tonight. The energy was great and it was nice to be back at home in front of our fans."

Trailing 7-1in the initial set, UND rallied back to knot the score at 9-9. After trading a few points back-and-forth, the Sioux gained control and held it through to the 25-19 win.

Smed led the Sioux with five kills on 15 swings.

It was all North Dakota in the second frame as the Sioux took down the Thunderbirds 25-7. It marked the fourth time that UND has held an opponent to seven points since rally scoring was adopted in 2001, and the third time it's been done since the NCAA dropped the point requirement from 30 to 25 points in 2008.

It was a scattered attack as six different Sioux tallied kills. Defensively, UND out-blocked SUU 6-0.

"We really wanted to win, and we wanted to set a point doing so," Smed said. "We not only wanted to show that we can go on big point runs, but we also wanted to show just how dominant we are at the net at all positions."

But SUU didn't give up the sweep easily.

In the final set, the Thunderbirds kept things tight, not allowing the Sioux any more than a four-point margin. After tying the set at 18-18, SUU took its first lead since holding a 3-2 advantage, but the Sioux quickly knotted it again. The same scenario played out twice more until UND grabbed the 22-21 lead.

In the closing minutes, it seemed to be anyone's win, and before UND's final 29-27 victory was posted, the set would hit six more ties.

Smed and sophomore middle blocker Ronni Munkeby (Lisbon, N.D.) finished with a team-high four kills apiece, and both senior middle blocker Tia Russell (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and sophomore libero Erica Turner (Andover, Minn.) recorded an ace.

Smed led the way on the night with 11 kills and nine digs. She also tallied a trio of blocks (one solo). Russell accounted for three aces and landed three blocks (one solo). At the net, sophomore Lisa Parlich (MB, Delavan, Wis.) led the way with five blocks (all assists). Redshirt freshman setter Nikki Husfeldt (Andover, Minn.) tallied 29 assists and Turner collected 10 digs.

UND will hit the road next weekend as it travels to California for the San Jose State/Santa Clara Invitational where it will face UC Santa Barbara, San Jose State and Santa Clara.

2011 UND Classic All-Tournament Team