GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota volleyball team fell, 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-23), to Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday morning in the team's home finale at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
North Dakota drops to 14-16 overall and 6-8 in The Summit League standings with just one game to play in the regular season. With today's match being the lone league contest on the schedule, the Fighting Hawks currently hold the sixth-and-final spot that qualifies for the conference's postseason tournament entering the final week of play.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne (15-12, 6-7 Summit League) saw three players reach double figures in kills, led by Katie Crowe and Sydney Boerst who each tallied 13. The Mastodons hit .312 for the match while holding UND to just a .188 clip on the day despite the Hawks only recording 13 attacks errors to 16 for Purdue Fort Wayne.
 
Taliyah Flores, who tallied a career-high 11 kills on Thursday after playing outside hitter for the first time, tied for the team lead with nine against the Mastodons while also leading the squad in hitting percentage at .296. The rookie also recorded seven digs and a pair of block assists.
 
Jordan Vail, one of three North Dakota players who played their final match at the Betty, matches Flores' mark in kills with nine while also tallying a dig and a solo rejection.
 
Alivia Fraase continues to climb up the conference leaderboard in digs, finishing with 15 to lead the Hawks on the day while Tamika Brekke recorded seven.
 
Lexi Ahrens was strong on the defensive side of the net once again, tallying a match-high four block assists and a solo rejection to help pace UND to its six total blocks. The freshman also recorded seven kills and added three digs.
 
Neither side could create separation for much of the opening set as the teams traded runs throughout the frame. After the Mastodons looked to have taken control with a 20-15 lead, UND answered right back with five straight of its own to quickly bring the score back to a deadlock thanks to a Lydia Rutten kill and four straight attack errors by the visitors. Tied at 22, Purdue Fort Wayne scored three straight points to claim the opening set, 25-22, and grab a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The second set belonged to the visitors, grabbing ahold of the momentum from the early going thanks to an 8-2 run to turn a 4-4 tie into a 12-6 lead. UND looked to close in as the frame wore on, closing the gap to 18-16 following a big double block from Flores and Ahrens to bring the 1,059 fans in attendance to their feet and forced a timeout by Purdue Fort Wayne.
 
The Mastodons responded out of the break, hitting a match-best .368 in the stanza and finishing with a 77% in sideout situations to hold on for the 25-21 victory and a 2-0 match lead heading into intermission.
 
UND came out attacking to open the third set, scoring five of the first six points to force the Mastodons to burn an early timeout. After back-to-back attack errors by Purdue Fort Wayne, Vail slammed down a kill followed by another mishit by the visitors and a Flores kill to spark the spurt.
 
The Hawks held the advantage for a majority of the frame and looked poised to send the match into a fourth set; however, Purdue Fort Wayne clawed its way back into the period before eventually using a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the set, 20-19. Flores and Ahrens teamed up for another double block to restore the UND advantage, 21-20, but the Mastodons finished with a 5-2 run to close out the match with a 25-23 victory and clinch the sweep.
 
North Dakota returns to action next Friday with a trip to Vermillion, S.D. to battle the Coyotes in the regular season finale.