GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- For the first time in its history, the Big Sky Conference Tournament will take place in Grand Forks as the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks volleyball team defeated Northern Colorado, 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-19), on Saturday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in front of 1,149 fans.
"Today's crowd of over 1100 was a huge deal for us," said head coach Mark Pryor. "I want to personally thank each person that came out this morning. You could have been at a lot of places. You actively chose to come support these young women on a Saturday morning, and we really are grateful we could share that championship experience with you."
With the win, UND (23-9, 14-2 BSC) clinches the Big Sky Conference regular season title outright and will host the conference tournament next weekend for the first time.
"It's amazing, I'm shaking right now," said Chelsea Moser, UND's lone senior. "I've wanted this for so long for this program and we finally got it."
"It feels good," added Pryor. "All of the hard work that they put in since the end of June, they deserve it. There are lot of people that I believe had a part in this championship. First of all, these young women have absolutely earned it. They have simply put their mind to the task at hand, and they worked for it. The hours they have put in has paid off. They have not had anything given to them. They earned it, and they are so deserving of this conference title."
Pryor also wanted to stress the importance the entire coaching staff has had on this team.
"It is also really important to recognize Erin Joki, Mia Tabberson, and Natalie Thomas, and Mayumi Ogi. Our staff has done of great job of teaching, training, and supporting this team, and I am extremely lucky to have them here. All 4 are great mentors for these student athletes. A major reason we have done as well as we have this year down the stretch is due to our strength staff. Ben Saaribovre and former strength coach Aaron Schwenzfeier had a big hand in this. The team bought into what we are doing from a strength standpoint, and it has paid off."
He also wants to add that it wasn't just his staff, but the former staff that helped pave the way for UND's title.
"Finally, I would like to personally thank former head coach Ashlee Hardee. He started this process 8 years ago, and his early success and accomplishments have made our continued success possible. UND fans are very grateful for that."
This marks the second time in history that UND has captured the Big Sky regular season crown as the Fighting Hawks previously claimed the title in 2013, but did not host the tournament. Since UND joined the league in 2012, only Northern Colorado, Northern Arizona, Idaho State, and UND have reached the conference tournament each season.
"It feels good, but there's still a lot of work to be done," said Faith Dooley. "We're on to our next goal and we just have to take it one game at a time."
In what was marked as the regular season championship game, UND looked to avenge a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Northern Colorado (18-10, 12-4 BSC) earlier in the conference season. The Bears would have hosted the conference tournament if they had won today.
There was also some concern heading into the match as UND had a long travel day on Friday after playing at Northern Arizona on Thursday.
"Yesterday we had a 4 hour layover in Denver. I was really worried about that travel day, and how traveling almost 3000 miles in 48 hours would affect us," stressed Pryor. "When I walked by the team about 2 hours into the layover and saw them doing lunges and stretches as a group in the middle of Denver International Airport, I thought , you know, we might be ok… When I heard Jordan Vail say this to someone walking by, 'Excuse me, sorry, we're just trying to win a conference championship' I just kind of laughed and thought… these kids are going to be just fine tomorrow."
In the first set UND came out firing, scoring eight of the game's first 12 points to force a UNC timeout.
The Fighting Hawks continued their attack throughout the entire opening frame as the green and white never trailed and cruised to a 25-18 win.
UND hit a match-low .212 in the first set, but held the Bears to a match-low .022 and forced eight attack errors.
Aces proved to be the story in the second set as the Fighting Hawks tallied five service aces in the second frame.
UND also cleaned up its attack in the middle set by only committing one attack error and hitting an impressive .444 hit percentage.
Going into the break, UND looked to be in control as the Fighting Hawks had claimed their last seven sets.
"It's everyone," said Moser on UND's current dominance. "On defense, you see Alivia, Tamara, and all of those girls just flying around out there, and you see Faith and everyone up front just clicking. I'm just so happy that it's happening right now."
In the third set, UNC grabbed the lead for the first time in the match at 2-1, but the Fighting Hawks never looked back as UND used a pair of runs to grab a commanding 16-9 lead.
UND captured the win in fitting fashion as Tamika Brekke dropped in the ninth service ace of the afternoon to cap off the championship.
The Fighting Hawks will now host the Big Sky Conference Tournament at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center next weekend.
"We will enjoy this for today and tomorrow, but Monday we are 0-0, and we are now playing sudden death, win or go home. This is the fun time of year, and we are so excited that we can play in front of a home crowd in really meaningful matches," said Pryor.
Moser noted the importance of UND being able to play at home.
"The best part about hosting is that it won't be our 17 girls against the world, it will be our world against everyone else."
NOTES: UND's nine service aces were the most since the Fighting Hawks recorded 11 vs. Alcorn State on Sept. 7 ... Today's win was the only the third win in the 11 DI meetings and first since 2014 between UND and UNC ... The seven attack errors by UND marks the 16th time and fifth this season under Mark Pryor that UND has recorded single digits in that statistical category ... UND finishes the regular season 9-3 (.750) at home this season.
