Junior Julia Kaczorowska led the way once again for UND, tallying 14 kills without an error on 30 swings, her sixth match with double-digit kills in the last seven. UND was the dominant force at the net, outblocking the Bison, 13-3. 

"We really played well at the net tonight, and that was the difference," UND head coach Mark Pryor said. "We won in three which is great this time of year. I liked how we fought off multiple set points and were calm and confident during that end of the third set."

The first four points went to the home team, but UND got a sideout and rattled off five straight to take its first lead. It would be short-lived, however, as NDSU again strung together five straight points to regain control.

From there, however, UND dominated the set, outscoring the Bison 20-7 the rest of the way in the opener en route to a 25-16 first-set win. Kaczorowska set the tone in that opening frame, chalking up five kills and a block all without a hitting error.

It was a back-and-forth second set with NDSU clinging to a slim 18-16 edge. North Dakota then got a pair of kills from Tamara Merseli to spark a 9-1 set-ending run for a two sets to none advantage heading to the break.

Pryor kept his team on the floor rather than heading to the locker room after than second set and it proved to keep the momentum firmly in UND's favor. North Dakota rifled off six of the first seven points in that frame and NDSU was forced to exhaust an early stoppage. 

The Bison would attempt to recover as they reclaimed the lead late and had its first set-point at 24-22. UND fought off four different set-points and finally finished the job on a Chelsea Moser block for the team's 13th of the night, a fitting end to this season's rivalry match. 

Moser complemented the duo of Kaczorowska (14 kills) and Faith Dooley (11 kills), by chipping in seven finishes along with teammate Merseli who also had seven. Those four players hit a combined .337 in the win with 39 kills on 98 attempts and just six attack errors among them. Sydney Griffin added 37 assists and seven digs while six different Fighting Hawks tallied at least two blocks on the night. 

"This is what college athletics is all about," said Pryor. "We should play the Bison home and away every year. It's just a great opportunity for two solid teams to play in two great venues, Bentsen Bunker Fieldhouse and the Betty, twice a year in front of a packed house, and an opportunity to grow the game in the state. The only real loser here is the state of North Dakota (not playing twice). Whether we win or lose this match, I am not going to change my stance on this, and I have been very consistent with this since I was hired in January of 2014. It just makes too much sense for both schools. It's great for fans and the student-athletes."

North Dakota will head to Montana to battle the Griz Friday and finishes the five-match road swing with a Saturday evening date with Montana State.