POCATELLO, Idaho -- If the University of North Dakota volleyball team wants to make the case that it is snake-bit in Reed Gym, tonight's match could be considered as "Exhibit A" as Idaho State rallied from a 2-0 hole to defeat UND, 3-2, on Friday night.

UND (15-9, 7-2 BSC) saw its league-best six-match winning streak come to an end by the hands of the Bengals (10-11, 6-3 BSC) in tough fashion.

"If this team decides to play hard all the time, they could be special," said head coach Mark Pryor. "The problem is they don't, and they know it.  Anyone who has watched them this year knows that.  It's that evident."

The Fighting Hawks got off to the start they wanted by attacking the Bengals throughout the first set. After UND grabbed an 18-13 lead, ISU clawed back into the game with five-straight points before a long rally went the way of the green and white to put the Fighting Hawks ahead. 

Later in the set, Sydney Griffin made a spectacular play at the net when the junior won the one-on-one play with one of her seven blocks on the night to give the Fighting Hawks 23-21 lead. 

It looked like Griffin's block was going to be the turning point of the first set until the Bengals evened the game at 24-24 to force extra points. 

Then UND turned to Ashley Brueggeman as the freshman powered home a pair of kills to give the Fighting Hawks the 26-24 win in the first set. 

The second set proved more of the same for North Dakota as the Fighting Hawks jumped out to another early lead. UND ramped up its defense early in the second set by blocking three shots in the first seven points. 

Idaho State again clawed back into the set by making it 14-13 UND, however, another long rally went the way of the Fighting Hawks when Tamara Merseli finished off the kill. 

After the Fighting Hawks built a 24-19 lead, ISU cut it to 24-22 before a Chelsea Moser kill finished off the set and gave UND the 25-22 win.

Coming out of the halftime break, it was all Bengals. ISU errupted in the third set by building leads of 4-1, 11-2, and 17-6. 

UND's lone highlight of the third set came on another long rally when Moser and Grace Bettenga came together for a block to cut the deficit to 22-13.

However, the Bengals hit .300 in the set to hold off the Fighting Hawks for a 25-18 win.

The fourth set was much of the same for UND as the Bengals once again jumped out to a large lead.

ISU built an 11-5 and 19-7 lead to send the match to a fifth-and-final set with a  25-14 win.

In the fifth set, Idaho State started out strong by building a quick 3-1 lead before UND scored four-straight points, including back-to-back blocks, to take back the lead at 6-4.

That started a back-and-forth affair as the teams started to trade points throughout the final set. Griffin and Faith Dooley teamed up for a block following a great dig by Merseli to give the Fighting Hawks a 10-8 lead.

Idaho State took ahold of the match in the final moments, scoring six of the last eight points to complete the comeback and win the fifth set, 16-14.

"We have been talking about this all year.  They simply pick and choose when it's convenient for them. They just can't do that and accomplish anything. You can't pick and choose when you turn it on and turn it off.  This is the most disappointing loss I've had in my time here at UND," said Pryor on the loss.

The Fighting Hawks will look to have a short memory as UND heads to Ogden, Utah to battle Weber State on Saturday, and Pryor knows that it's time for his team to step up.