AMES, Iowa-- Host Iowa State posted a 3-0 win over North Dakota Monday at the Hilton Coliseum in UND's final regular season non-conference affair. The Fighting Hawks will now hone in on the final four matches of the season gearing towards the Big Sky Conference Tournament.

"Tonight was an opportunity for us to go battle a very good nationally-ranked opponent," UND head coach Mark Pryor said. "Even though we weren't at full strength tonight, I really liked how we were playing in a couple areas. Our defense was really solid against a very good offensive team for the most part. We made a lot of plays, just not enough once we got to the middle of each set. They were consistent in the teens, and our inefficiency showed up then."

UND (24-6 overall) got out to a fast start, killing five balls on just eight attempts without an error on the way to a quick 8-5 advantage. The 19th-ranked Cyclones responded with a 14-2 spurt to take control of the set, winning the opener, 25-16.

In the second, North Dakota trailed 4-1 early but rallied for a 9-7 edge. From there, the host squad piled up 15 of the next 18 points for a 22-12 advantage and an eventual 25-14 win.

The third set saw ISU (17-4) take a 12-6 lead off the bat then play sideout volleyball for the most part en route to a 25-17 win in that stanza and the sweep. Monday's win comes just two nights after the Cyclones dispatched then-No. 11 Kansas on Saturday evening.

Tamara Merseli led North Dakota with nine kills and 14 digs. Alivia Fraase tallied 13 digs while Sydney Griffin notched 21 assists, seven digs and four kills on the evening.

"What showed tonight was our first contact, both in receive and serving, has to improve," Pryor said. "We played way too many serves that were going out of bounds. To not take free points against a top 20 team just makes it way too hard to stay in sets. And then to serve balls out at crucial times just expounded the problem.

"This match was put on the schedule for just that reason, to have a really good opponent exploit our weaknesses so we can see what we can do to address them. We definitely were able to do some things against them, but not consistently enough. They were just way too steady for us tonight. That's ok, this is what this match was for."

North Dakota returns to Big Sky Conference play Thursday at Eastern Washington. The trip continues Saturday at Idaho in the final regular season road match of the season.

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