BOZEMAN, Mont.-- Visiting North Dakota swept host Montana State Saturday night to set the stage for a monumental final two weeks of the regular season. UND goes into the final four matches of the season no worse than tied for the top spot in the Big Sky Conference (pending late outcome between Portland State and Northern Arizona).
Senior Chelsea Moser paced the Fighting Hawks' offense with 11 kills to go along with four service aces and three blocks. UND tallied eight aces in the three-set win. Freshman Ashley Brueggeman added 10 kills while Tamara Merseli totaled nine kills and 11 digs. Sydney Griffin handed out 35 assists in the victory, UND's 12th win away from home this season.
"Tonight we simply took care of business. No more, no less. That's a step forward for us," UND head coach Mark Pryor said. "We played pretty well in most phases of the game. Our serving tonight was definitely a plus for us, to keep them from running their fast tempo sets to the left side.
"Each match this week accomplished something: Our successful outcome against NDSU secured a winning season, our win against Montana was a great example of how we can win ugly when things aren't clicking and this win against Montana State finishes off a two-week road trip with five matches over a nine-day span that covered well over 4,500 miles. Being able to finish a match on the road under those conditions is a big step for our program."
UND (19-9, 10-2 Big Sky) dug out a win in the opening set, fending off a late Bobcat rally. North Dakota led by as many as nine points before MSU tied the score at 22-all. From there, the road team put it away with three straight points for a 25-22 victory.
The second set saw UND hit .270 with nine combined kills between Moser and Merseli and a 25-18 win gave North Dakota a quick 2-0 lead in the match. UND closed out its 10th sweep of the season with a 25-17 third-set score. In that frame, the Fighting Hawks trailed only in the early points before an 9-2 run propelled them in front for good.
North Dakota plays three of its final four regular season matches at home beginning this week with a Thursday evening tilt with Eastern Washington and a Saturday night dual against Idaho at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. UND's lone road trip is a Nov. 10 showdown at Northern Arizona which could determine the host site of the postseason tournament.
