AMES, Iowa-- Visiting North Dakota gave No. 21 Iowa State all it could handle in a four-set loss (20-25, 25-15, 25-20, 26-24) in the finale of the Cyclone Invitational Saturday afternoon in non-conference play. It took an 8-2 run at the end of the fourth set for the home team to come away with the win.

"For me personally, this was the most fun coaching I have had in about six or seven years," UND head coach Mark Pryor said of his team's success in a stacked tournament to open the season. "This team is just so enjoyable to work with on a daily basis. It made me so proud to have coaches and fans from other teams come up after matches and comment not only on how we played, but how our team interacted, and how much this team plays with joy. Playing well against top notch competition is great, but representing the state and the university in such a professional and classy manner is something each member of this program can, and should, have a lot of pride in."

UND (1-2) never cowered to a team that had a 70-14 record over the past seven seasons in its home building. In fact, North Dakota was the aggressor early, never trailing in the opening set, using a quick start and forcing the 21st-ranked Cyclones into 10 attack errors and taking advantage of four service errors. North Dakota took eight of the first 11 points, including five straight on the service of Sydney Griffin. ISU was forced to burn an early timeout and rallied to tie the score on two occasions but the visitors finished the frame on a 6-2 spurt to earn a 25-20 victory.

ISU (2-0) turned the tables in the second set, turning a 5-4 deficit into a 19-10 lead midway through to square the match at one set apiece with a 25-15 win.

In the third, the Cyclones seemed poised to run away, leading again 19-10, but UND mounted a rally to get it back within five, but the Cyclones posted the 25-20 victory in that frame and took their first lead of the match at two sets to one.

North Dakota continued to pester Iowa State, again rallying from a deficit. It was 7-2 Iowa State until an incredible 13-3 run completely flipped the script and had the home team on its heels and facing a potential fifth set. Several long rallies defined that set and UND won a particularly spirited one to take a 22-18 lead. From there, however, ISU was able to finish the match with eight of the final 10 points to sneak out with a 3-1 win.

Freshman Amanda Harnett shined with eight kills and a career-high eight total blocks. Sophomore Faith Dooley registered 10 kills and six blocks as UND out-blocked the Cyclones 11.0 to 7.0 for the match.

North Dakota will travel to Omaha, Neb., to face the host Omaha Mavericks Friday followed by Central Florida and Drake on Saturday in the Omaha Classic.