VERMILLION, S.D. – The University of North Dakota volleyball team fell, 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-20), to South Dakota on Friday night at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center to close out the regular season portion of the schedule.
 
With the loss, coupled with North Dakota State's victory over Oral Roberts in Tulsa, the Fighting Hawks (14-17, 6-9 Summit League) will have to wait until Sunday to potentially clinch a berth in the six-team Summit League Tournament next weekend in Denver. Either a loss by NDSU at South Dakota or by Oral Roberts at Omaha would send UND to the Mile High City.
 
The defeat also cements an under .500 record in conference play for the first time in the Division I era (2008-present). The last time a UND team had not recorded at least a .500 mark during league action was in 2007.
 
South Dakota (18-9, 12-3 Summit League) saw a pair of players reach double figures in kills, led by Taylor Wilson's match-high 18 and .467 hitting percentage.
 
Taliyah Flores reached double figures in digs for UND, but just missed her first-career double-double with a team-leading eight kills while Jordan Vail collected seven kills and a solo rejection.
 
Alivia Fraase led all players with 22 digs for the Hawks while also adding a pair of service aces. Roosa Rautio finished with 24 assists, eight digs, and a kill in the losing effort.

Darian Chwialkowski returned to the starting rotation and recorded another double-digit dig effort with 10. The true freshman also chipped in a trio of kills and two block assists. Lexi Ahrens was strong in the middle again for UND, recording a match-high five block assists and a solo rejection to help pace the Hawks to seven on the night.
 
North Dakota led for a majority of the opening set, holding the advantage until late in the frame when the Coyotes embarked on a run to take a 24-22 lead after UND had built a 21-16 cushion. Despite outhitting USD in the stanza, the hosts rallied for a 25-23 victory to take a 1-0 match lead.
 
 USD jumped out to an early lead in the second set, doubling up the Hawks, 10-5, over the first 15 points and forcing a timeout by the visitors. UND would not go away quietly, however, cutting the lead to one on a pair of occasions following an Ahrens kill, but the Coyotes were able to maintain their lead and pull away with another long run to win the second set, 25-16, and take a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.
 
In the third, UND came out attacking as a Vail solo rejection put the Hawks up by two, but the hosts rallied again by turning a 9-9 deadlock into a 13-9 lead and forcing a North Dakota timeout. Despite the timeout, South Dakota was able to hold on for the 25-20 victory in the third set and clinch the season sweep.