OMAHA, Neb. -- The University of North Dakota closed out the Omaha Classic with a Saturday split.
After falling to the tournament hosts on Friday night, UND knew it needed to rebound today to salvage some momentum heading back to Grand Forks for its home opener.
UCF 3, UND 1
However, UND ran into another hot opponent in Central Florida. The Knights, who are the defending American Athletic Conference champions and a NCAA Tournament team from last season, came into the tournament winners of its last three matches and looking to take down UND.
Both teams came out firing away early, with the first set locked even at 7-7. UND was then able to even the score again at 18, forcing a UCF timeout.
However, following the timeout, the Knights were able to find the separation they needed to win the first set, 25-19.
In the second set, UND looked to grab to momentum by jumping out early. The green and white took a 3-0 lead early, but the Knights quickly responded with a run of their own to grab the lead for the remainder of the set. UND was able to cut the deficit to 21-19 and looked to have all of the momentum before UND's chance seemed to slipped away.
"We were down 21-19 and they gave us a free ball that we didn't handle well," said Pryor on the deciding point. "That was a turning point, because we were gaining momentum."
UCF was able to win the point and come away with the second set victory, 25-20.
Heading into the third set, UND knew it needed to win keep the match going. The green and white came out attacking once again as UND held the lead for most of the match. With the game even at 24, UND got two big kills from Faith Dooley to give UND a 27-25 win and push the match to a fourth set.
However, in the fourth set, UCF came out firing. The Knights jumped out to a 6-0 lead and built it up to 10-4. UND was able to close the gap to 14-9, but UCF was able to pull away and take the set with a 25-15 win.
The loss was UND's fourth-consecutive, the longest since 2013.
UND 3, Drake 0
After the tough loss earlier in the morning, UND looked to bounce back against Drake. In the first set, both teams were trading punches early. As the set wore on, Drake was able to gain a 24-21 lead and looked primed to win the first set. However, UND rattled off three straight points to even the game at 24. After each team traded points, UND had a service ace from Denae Dominguez and a kill by Dooley to push UND to a 27-25 win in the 1st set.
"We were down 24-21 in the first, but really did a great job of creating opportunities to score to tie it up and ultimately get the set 1 win," said Pryor on the set win.
After a back-and-forth first set, it was more the same in the second as both teams were trading points again. With the set tied 24-24 again, both teams traded points. UND then forced two Bulldog errors to once again claim an exciting 27-25 set and grab a 2-0 match lead.
"In set 2 we stayed composed the whole set, and it really showed when they had two set points, and we just stayed calm and simply sided out," said Pryor. "It was very workman like."
That workman-like attitude carried into the third set, which once again saw both teams trade points again. UND was able to use its defense to pull away and complete the sweep with a 25-18 win.
Chelsea Moser led UND with 12 kills, while Courtney Place also racked up 10 kills.
UND finishes the tournament with a 1-2 record, but Pryor still has his team's priorities in order.
"Our preseason is definitely going to have some ups and downs, as this weekend has shown," said Pryor on the weekend. "The goal for us right now is to just get solid and steady before conference play begins."
UND will have some more opportunities to get ready for conference play as the green and white opens its home schedule on Sept. 8 with rival South Dakota State.
"Now we get a chance to get back home and play in the Betty in front of the home crowd and we could not be more excited for next week," Pryor said.
First serve for UND versus the Jacks is set for 7 p.m.
