GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Just two days after facing one of the unbeaten teams in The Summit League, the University of North Dakota volleyball team battled the other as the back-to-back-to-back-to-back conference champions Denver defeated UND, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20), on Sunday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
The 991 fans in attendance saw something they weren't quite used to, a UND defeat on its home floor. Since Sept. 3, 2016, the Fighting Hawks (12-10, 4-3 Summit League) entered Sunday with a 29-1 record in Grand Forks and suffer its first loss at the Betty since Oct. 28, 2017 vs. Montana State.
 
"Against solid teams we need to have all five hitters producing and unfortunately we weren't able to do that today," said Head Coach Mark Pryor. "Denver is the standard in Summit League volleyball, and we have to find a way to match that standard or build to it."
 
Ashley Brueggeman led the entire match with 14 kills, needing only 28 swings to accomplish the feat for a .286 hitting percentage. The junior has now hit .200 or better in 15 matches this season, including three straight. Brueggeman also added five digs and a block assist as eight of the players who saw the floor for North Dakota recorded a dig.
 
Jordan Vail and Brynn Nieukirk finished second and third on the team with eight and seven kills, respectively. Vail, the conference's leader in total blocks, added a pair of block assists along with a solo rejection for another multi-block outing. Nieukirk was also strong at the net for the Hawks with a block solo and one block assist.
 
Darian Chwialkowski posted five kills, seven digs, and an assist in her second-collegiate start in as many matches.
 
Lydia Rutten was a defensive machine in the middle for UND, recording a game-high four block assists as well as a pair of solo blocks. The sophomore helped pace North Dakota to 11 total blocks in the contest.
 
Taliyah Flores, the conference's leading dig artist, tallied 22 digs for her 15th straight tilt with at least 10 digs. The freshman has now recorded 18 matches of double-digit digs and has reached 20-or-more eight times.
 
Roosa Rautio finished with a match-high 36 assists while also recording a trio of digs, two service aces, three block assists, and a solo block.
 
North Dakota forced Denver (16-1, 5-0 Summit) to commit 26 attack errors, a team-high in conference matches this season for the Pioneers.
 
"We controlled and slowed down some of their hitters, so I was pleased with our defense for the most part," said Pryor. "We just needed more offensive production to really have a chance at winning that match."
 
The Pioneers came out attacking in the opening set trying to quiet the crowd as the visitors quickly jumped out to an early 8-3 lead and forced a UND timeout.
 
Out of the break, the Hawks began to slowly chip away at the deficit. The hosts ignited the crowd when Vail and Rautio teamed up for a monster double block to cut the lead to 17-14. Denver recovered, however, rattling off four of the next five points to quickly regain its comfortable lead. The Pioneers were able to hold on for a 25-20 victory and take a 1-0 match lead.
 
The loss in the opening frame was the first time this season that UND has fell behind 1-0 when playing at home. Entering Sunday, the Hawks are 0-7 when dropping the first stanza.
 
North Dakota came out with authority in the second set, jumping all over the Pioneers in route to a 7-2 lead following a Rautio service ace. The Hawks continued to pour it on out of the Denver stoppage, scoring eight of the next nine points thanks to kills from Rutten and Brueggeman, as well as another double block by Rautio and Chwialkowski to lead 15-3.
 
Denver looked to regain its composure, however, continuing to battle back in the frame. The Pioneers eventually wore the UND advantage down to just 17-15, but a Vail kill and Rautio solo block answered the DU run.
 
The visitors again cut into the lead, whittling the advantage down to just a single point at 21-20. After Nieukirk recorded a kill and solo block, Brueggeman finished off the set victory with a kill to give UND a 25-23 triumph and even the match at 1-1.
 
The third frame was a much slower start as both sides traded points in the early going. With DU leading 8-7, the Pioneers created some separation with a 4-1 spurt to force a UND timeout and grab a 12-8 advantage.
 
UND battled, but could not cut into the deficit as Denver hit a match-high .394 in the set to grab a 2-1 match lead with a 25-17 victory.
 
Needing a win to send the tilt into a fifth set, the Hawks came out strong again to begin the frame as back-to-back Chwialkowski kills and an attack error by Denver gave UND a 9-7 lead.
 
Both teams continued to trade points for much of the frame, recording four lead changes and six ties over the next 13 points with Denver taking a 15-14 lead at the media break.
 
Out of the media break, the Pioneers never relinquished the lead as the visitors escaped with a 25-20 victory in the fourth set to win the match 3-1.
 
North Dakota returns to action on Tuesday with its final nonconference showdown of the season at top-10 foe and undefeated Pittsburgh.