| Minnesota 3, North Dakota 1 |
Fri., Sep. 16, 2016 • Minneapolis, Minn.
Williams Arena
Attendance: 4,271
|
| |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
| North Dakota |
12 |
25 |
20 |
18 |
- |
#3 Minnesota
|
25 |
21 |
25 |
25 |
- |
|
| Key Notes |
| • Moser- 13 kills, 0 errors |
| • Griffin- 37 assists |
| • Vail- 9 kills, 1 error |
|
Statistical Comparison
|
UND |
UM |
| Kills |
42 |
66 |
| Hitting Pct. |
.167 |
.291 |
| Assists |
40 |
62 |
| Service Aces |
4 |
4 |
| Digs |
48 |
63 |
| Total Blocks |
5.0 |
10.0 |
|
|
|
|
MINNEAPOLIS-- North Dakota gave third-ranked Minnesota fits as the Gophers pulled out a 3-1 win in their home opener during the first day of the Diet Coke Classic. UND dropped the first set, 25-12, but roared back with a 25-21 set-two win and forced Minnesota to hold off a pesky Fighting Hawk squad to earn the win in the fourth.
"Tonight was a loss, and that's nothing to be satisfied with, but I saw some good things," UND head coach Mark Pryor said. "First of all, when Chelsea Moser hits like she did and when Jordan Vail hits like she did, we proved to ourselves that we can sideout with anybody. Second, when we continued to battle a team like that, I think that's a good sign for the future."
Senior Chelsea Moser paved the way for UND statistically, generating a team-best 13 kills on just 24 swings without an error. Jordan Vail added nine kills while Sydney Griffin chipped in 37 assists.
Minnesota, who advanced to the NCAA Final Four last season and was opening its home schedule tonight, had a crowd of 4,271 in a frenzy in the first set and rode that wave to a convincing 25-12 win in that opening frame.
But, UND (7-6) was unfazed, turning a 9-7 deficit into a 15-9 lead with eight straight points in the second set. North Dakota would not look back in that set, eventually winning, 25-21, as Moser and Vail combined for eight kills on just 15 swings without an error in that set alone.
The teams battled through 11 tie scores and the lead changed hands seven times in a tight third set, but Minnesota persevered to grab a 25-20 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Minnesota had to fend off one final UND rally as it was 23-11 but a 7-1 spurt forced the Gophers to exhaust a timeout before winning the set and the match, 25-18.
"Now comes the really hard part. We have set the bar higher now," Pryor said. "Now we have to achieve that level of detail, of effort, of energy every time we play. It's easy to get up for matches like that. The real test will be how we come out tomorrow."
North Dakota (7-6) will play Green Bay and Toledo tomorrow to finish off the Classic.
