BROOKINGS, S.D. – Five-set matches had been the bread-and-butter for the University of North Dakota volleyball team this season, but the Fighting Hawks ran into a bit of a nightmare on Halloween eve as South Dakota State rallied for a 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-22, 15-7) victory on Tuesday evening in Brookings.
 
The defeat snaps a streak of five straight wins over the Jackrabbits (5-20, 2-10 Summit League) and gives the hosts its first win over the Fighting Hawks (13-15, 5-7 Summit League) since 2012. The loss is also only the second in seven matches when going the distance as UND had won its previous four when playing all five frames.
 
North Dakota drops to 5-7 in league play this season which puts UND into a tie with Purdue Fort Wayne and North Dakota State for sixth in the conference standings. The Hawks, which own the tiebreaker against NDSU, host Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday in a massive showdown from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center that could help decide which teams will be part of the six who qualify for The Summit League Tournament in Denver. UND will look to even the season series against the Mastodons after falling in three sets in Fort Wayne.
 
Ashlynn Smith finished with a game-high 23 kills and hit a whopping .439 on the evening to lead the Jackrabbits past an undermanned North Dakota squad that was once again playing without some vital pieces, including starters Brynn Nieukirk and Taliyah Flores.
 
Jordan Vail led the Hawks with 17 kills and hit .371 for another solid performance from the senior middle hitter. The San Antonio native also chipped in three of the team's eight blocks.
 
Darian Chwialkowski found a new career high in kills with 16 as the true freshman recorded the first double-double of her career with 13 digs to accompany the offense. The rookie has now reached double figures in digs in four consecutive contests for the Hawks.
 
Fresh off matching a career high on Friday evening against Omaha with 17 kills, Ashley Brueggeman tallied 14 to finish as the third UND player to eclipse the 10-kill plateau while also adding a trio of digs and two blocks in the loss.
 
Roosa Rautio finished with a match-high 52 assists to strengthen her grip on the conference lead. The freshman also recorded 11 digs and a pair of rejections to collect her seventh double-double of the year.
 
Returning back to the familiar libero spot, Alivia Fraase was strong with a match-high 28 digs while Lydia Rutten continues to be a strong force in the middle by leading all players with five blocks.
 
Neither side could create much separation through the opening moments of the first set, with both teams never holding a lead larger than two through the first 18 points. With SDSU holding a 12-11 lead, UND finally took over by scoring six of the frame's next seven points to grab a 17-13 advantage and force a timeout by the home team. The Hawks kept up the pressure in the stanza, pushing their lead to six on a pair of occasions thanks to attack errors from the Jackrabbits, but SDSU clawed back into the set to trim the deficit down to 23-20. However, a Chwialkowski kill and double block from Lexi Ahrens and Vail boosted UND to a 25-20 victory in the opening frame and a 1-0 match lead.
 
Claiming the first set had meant good things for North Dakota this season as the Hawks entered play on Tuesday with a 13-3 mark after taking a 1-0 lead in the contest.
 
It was South Dakota State who took control in the second frame, scoring the set's first eight points to take a commanding 8-0 lead right out of the gate. The Jacks were not pressured in that set, as North Dakota got it to 10-6 but no closer with SDSU closing out the frame, 25-17.
 
UND flipped the script in the third, opening up on a 5-1 spurt of its own to quickly force a timeout from the hosts. The Hawks maintained its large cushion for most of the set until a small run by the Jackrabbits cut the lead down to 13-11. From there, the visitors answered with five of the next six thanks to a pair of attack errors, two kills from Brueggeman, and a service ace from Fraase to extend the lead back to 18-12. SDSU would not go away quietly, however, embarking on another run to eventually trim the deficit to a single point, 22-21, before UND rattled off three straight points to close out the set with a 25-22 triumph. That 3-0 run was fueled by the defense as Rutten teamed up with Brueggeman and then Rautio for back-to-back rejections to seal the frame.
 
The fourth set followed a similar script to the first as neither side could build a large lead for most of the opening points of the frame before finally SDSU created some distance with a 4-1 spurt to take a 14-10 lead and force a UND timeout. With the Jacks still leading 16-13, it was UND's turn to answer as the Hawks rallied for seven of the next eight points to take a 20-17 lead and were in prime position to close the match out. Vail finished that run with a trio of kills and a block to help push the visitors in front. The hosts countered in a strong way, however, rallying for an 8-2 run to complete the comeback and win the fourth set, 25-22, and send the match into a tiebreaking fifth stanza.
 
The Jackrabbits rode the momentum of the comeback effort in the fourth during the fifth set by cementing the victory with a 6-0 spurt to turn a 7-7 deadlock into a 15-7 win.
 
North Dakota returns to action on Thursday evening with a showdown against Western Illinois at 7 p.m. at the Betty. UND will honors its seniors in a special ceremony following the match.