Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
FORT WORTH, Texas – Concluding a wicked stretch against four consecutive opponents ranked inside the top-100 for RPI and who all saw postseason action a year ago, the University of North Dakota volleyball team defeated Green Bay, 3-0, and fell to TCU, 3-1, on Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas.
 
"Today was a good step for us," said Head Coach Mark Pryor. "I think any coach that will say that he or she is happy with being 1-3 is a liar; however, in looking at our long range goals this season, this weekend has to be considered a success."
 
Over a two-day stretch that saw the Fighting Hawks play quality opponents in each of their four matches, Pryor knows that the bumps that come in the early portion of the season are going to lead to success down the line when it really matters.
 
"Five new starters playing against some higher level competition is not a recipe for short term success; only November matters," stressed Pryor. "We played better and better each match.  We started to see the team at times embrace the identity of what UND volleyball is."
 
While four matches do not define a season, one can start drawing some comparisons to the 2016 squad who was tasked with breaking in newcomers in key positions and taking on a bevy of tough opponents to begin the season. That team also started the year 1-3, but late in the season rattled off 11-straight victories, including a perfect 7-0 in November, en route to the first of back-to-back Big Sky Tournament titles.
 
"I think that as the team embraced the level of play against a Big XII opponent today, a lot of our players really came to the realization that we do have the pieces here to really be a great team," said Pryor. It is just going to take work."
 
UND 3, Green Bay 0
The Fighting Hawks used a balanced offensive attack to take down Green Bay on Sunday morning, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20, for their first win of the season.
 
Never hitting below .280 for a set, UND was led by Kayla Williams and Ashley Brueggeman who each reached double figures in kills while holding the Phoenix (1-3) to a .192 clip for the match.
 
Williams tallied her second double-double of the season in just three tries, adding 11 digs, a block, and a pair of service aces in the victory. Freshman setter Roosa Rautio was also dynamic in the middle for the green and white, collecting the first double-double of her collegiate career with 45 assists and 10 digs.
 
Lydia Rutten needed only 14 swings to record her seven kills against Green Bay while also teaming up for a pair of block assists. Brynn Nieukirk dominated in the opening set for the Fighting Hawks, tallying three-straight kills to give UND the lead.
 
With the opening set tied at 23, Brueggeman and Williams each slammed home kills to break the deadlock and give the Fighting Hawks their first lead of the season.
 
In the second set, UND grabbed an early lead and never relinquished it by holding off a pesky Green Bay squad for the 25-21 win. Jordan Vail was strong in the frame, recording four kills and a block, including a huge kill late to stop a Phoenix rally.
 
UND held the lead for most of the third set, but Green Bay cut the deficit to one on a pair of occasions late looking to push the match into a fourth set. Holding onto a 21-20 lead, a Williams kill, Maggie Smith ace, and two Brueggeman kills pushed the Fighting Hawks to the 25-20 set win and the match victory.
 
TCU 3, UND 1
Led by 21 kills from Elan McCall, the Horned Frogs (4-0) rallied from a 1-0 hole to defeat the Fighting Hawks 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 to close out the weekend in the Lone Star State.
 
UND recorded a season-high eight blocks led by Vail's trio of solo rejections and a block assist. Rutten added a tetrad of block assists while Brueggeman added three of her own to pace the Fighting Hawks.
 
Vail was dynamic on the offensive side of the ball as well, tying for a team-high 15 kills and hitting at an astounding .464 clip. Williams matched her teammate with 15 kills, sharing the honor or leading UND in kills in all four matches this weekend. The Staten Island native added 20 digs and a block for her third double-double of the weekend.
 
After recording her first double-double of her collegiate career earlier in the morning, Rautio made it a 2-for-2 day with 42 assists, 12 digs, two aces, and a block. Alivia Fraase and Taliyah Flores both had 10 digs to place four players in double figures for the match.
 
UND held the lead for the majority of the opening set until TCU roared back to take a 22-20 lead late in the stanza. A pair of attack errors and a Vail kill gave the visitors a 24-23 lead before holding on after a Horned Frog attack went long. UND's triumph was the first setback TCU had suffered this season and gave the visitors some momentum heading into the remainder of the match.
 
In a mirror image to the first, the second set saw the hosts hold a lead until the Fighting Hawks used a 4-0 spurt to turn a deficit that grew as large as seven disappear in a 21-all contest. After both teams traded points to keep the match even, TCU scored the next three to even the match up at one.
 
The Fighting Hawks ran into problems during the beginning of the third set, falling in an early 5-0 hole before again rallying to take a 17-16 lead on another Vail kill. From there, the programs continued to go point-for-point until the Horned Frogs strung together five of the final seven points to break open a 20-19 lead and claim the set, 25-21, for a 2-1 lead.
 
TCU held off UND in the fourth set to finish off the victory and move to a perfect 4-0 on the season.
 
The Fighting Hawks return home for the annual UND Classic presented by Buffalo Wild Wings beginning on Thursday afternoon against Eastern Washington. The hosts will battle Western Carolina and Louisiana Tech on Friday at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.