MINNEAPOLIS-- North Dakota split a pair of non-conference matches at the Diet Coke Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota Saturday. UND fell to Green Bay in straight sets before rebounding with a sweep of Toledo in the afternoon.
"Today, we once again experienced what it's like to commit to playing defense all the time vs. committing to playing defense when it's convenient," UND head coach Mark Pryor said. "When we make that choice to be totally committed to playing hard, we can compete with high-level programs. When we don't make that choice, we put a lot of pressure on our net play to control the entire match and that's just not possible.
"The good news is that this team is aware of it and they know for us accomplish what we want to, we have to take more value in playing all aspects of the game. As we move into conference play, we will be able to train more and hopefully correct that."
In the opening match Saturday, North Dakota faced Green Bay. The Phoenix were able to come away with a 3-0 sweep, thanks in large part to a .276 hitting percentage for the match, including a .500 clip in the final set alone. UWGB (8-3) won 25-21, 25-22 and 25-20 a day after UND had played an impressive four-set match with third-ranked Minnesota.
The nightcap saw Toledo (7-5) hit just .158 as North Dakota (8-7) was able to generate 10 team blocks and added 56 digs-- 17 from Alivia Fraase-- for the win. UND sneaked out a 25-23 victory in the opener, dominated the second set 25-17 and then rallied from down 20-15 in the third set to win, 25-23.
That 10-3 match-ending run had four different UND players tally kills, including a pair from junior Tamara Merseli, who finished with a match-high 14. She added eight digs, five total blocks and a service ace in the win. Junior Sydney Griffin recorded 35 assists while five UND players had at least six kills. Sophomore Jordan Vail was one of them, collecting seven total blocks in the process as well.
North Dakota opens Big Sky Conference play Thursday, hosting Southern Utah University. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. on Midco Sports Network at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
