GRAND FORKS, N.D.-- The Big Sky Conference Tournament hasn't necessarily been a cozy place for the University of North Dakota historically. UND is looking to change that outlook this season, rolling to a ninth straight win in front of a boisterous home crowd with a 25-18, 25-20, 25-17 victory over eighth-seeded Idaho to advance to Friday's semifinal.
While UND has qualified for the postseason tournament in each of its five seasons in the Big Sky Conference, it has won just once prior to Thursday's outcome. The home team left no doubt that this year would be a different story as North Dakota was in control for the bulk of the match, continuing a stretch where the Fighting Hawks have dropped just three of their last 30 sets combined with 16 of those wins keeping their opponent under the 20-point threshold.
"Tonight was a good performance, but not a great one, and I think all of our athletes and staff will agree with that," UND head coach Mark Pryor mentioned. "We had two really emotional wins last week, and we were a little flat in a couple areas, and some of that was expected. The good news is that our performance was good enough to earn that win in three tonight, and get us ready for a big match up tomorrow. I think the big thing that we got out of tonight was winning in three. Every little bit of rest now can help us."
Junior Faith Dooley, who was one of four UND players lauded with All-Big Sky Conference First Team honors a day prior, paved the way with a match-high 11 kills and five total blocks in the win. League MVP Sydney Griffin handed out 27 assists and added five kills and four digs while Alivia Fraase paced the defense with 21 digs in the sweep.
UND (24-9) got out to a quick start, forcing Idaho (11-18) to rip through both of its timeouts early in the first set as it was 16-10. The Vandals rallied to get back within three until UND ripped off the final four points of the set with a block and a pair of Dooley kills in that mix.
In the second, Idaho had its first lead in any set and it was its largest of any set, but it was just 4-2. UND quickly flipped that into a 7-4 lead with five straight points and later it would be a 6-0 run in the mid-portion of the frame that proved to be the difference in a 25-20 win heading into intermission.
The third set saw an early 6-1 North Dakota spurt put the Fighting Hawks in front for good en route to a 25-17 victory and UND's sixth sweep in this winning streak and third straight.
"The four teams that are left can all win it, there is zero doubt in my mind about that," said Pryor. "It's really a who's who of Big Sky elite programs. We are looking forward to getting a chance to play against a great Idaho State team. Their resilience is impressive. Tonight they were down 2-0 and came back and won 18-16 in the fifth. It is going to be a battle. We need to better than we were tonight, but the good news is that we absolutely can be, and I'm looking forward to seeing our team play at home again. We really need a great crowd tomorrow. That crowd is a big boost for us, and we really appreciate all the support this community gives us."
North Dakota will play fifth-seeded Idaho State in Friday's semifinal match. The Bengals rallied from down two sets to none against Northern Colorado to win in five.
Notes: Thursday's win was UND's second in the Big Sky Conference Tournament all-time (2014 quarterfinal win vs. Montana) ... North Dakota has won nine straight ... It's last loss came at Idaho State, who also came back from down 2-0 in that match (Oct. 21) ... UND has lost just three sets during this current winning streak ... Thursday's win was also UND's ninth straight home win, dating back to Sep. 22 ... North Dakota is 11-3 at the Betty this season ... Second-seeded Sacramento State won in five to meet third-seed Northern Arizona-- who swept its quarterfinal-- in Friday's early matchup (4:30 p.m.).
