GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota volleyball team fell to Northern Colorado in a five-set match on Saturday, 3-2, at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. It snapped an incredible 10-match winning streak in matches that go to a fifth set, dating back to last season.

"The only thing I am disappointed with today is the end result," UND head coach Mark Pryor said. "We had players battle at every position. I could not be more proud of how this group has handled themselves. They have shown resilience and grit this weekend.

This match was not lost in the fifth set, we lost this one in two spots. We started very slow in the second, and that put us in a bind. After being up 1-0, we have to start faster and have some urgency. And in the third, we were right there at the end but made a couple of crucial unforced errors to give them the third set. We take care of either one of those and we have a different outcome."

UND won the first set after breaking free from a 7-all tie to get to the end of the set with a 25-20 win. UNC flipped the script in the second set, leading most of the frame to tie the match at one set apiece after a 25-19 win headed to the break.

Out of the intermission, UND stormed out to a 6-1 lead but the Bears fought back quickly to tie it at 9-9. That would be the first of a whopping 14 tie scores in that set with neither team seizing control. Kendra Cunningham tallied one of her 17 kills to finish the set, 25-23, and put Northern Colorado in front two sets to one.

The fourth set saw UND build an early lead and had a 17-12 edge to prompt a UNC timeout. Three consecutive UNC points out of the break cut it to two, but following a North Dakota stoppage, the home team rebuilt it edge to 23-19. But, UNC would not go away, trimming it to one at 23-22 but Faith Dooley smashed one of her 14 kills to end the set, 25-23, to send it to the deciding fifth set.

Northern Colorado finally stopped the UND fifth-set magic by scoring the first four points and piling up a 9-3 advantage before eventually winning the set, 15-8, and the match for its first road win of the season.  

Chelsea Moser led UND with a match-high 17 kills while also chipping in with a service ace and a .316 hitting percentage. Courtney Place had another double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs. McKenzie Hart had 34 digs to add to her NCAA-leading total in that category.

Setter Sydney Griffin notched 52 assists and recorded six kills, hitting for .545 in the match. For the second-straight match, Grace Bettenga recorded a career-high in kills, besting the seven she posted on Thursday with eight today.

North Dakota makes its final road trip of the regular season, heading to the Montana schools for a Friday and Saturday tilts. UND will draw Montana State first for a Friday 8:00 p.m. match from Bozeman, Mont.