GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota volleyball team may want to consider adopting "The Distance" by Cake as their official team song because the Fighting Hawks went all the way again; defeating Oral Roberts 3-2 (25-17, 28-30, 22-25, 25-18, 15-8) on Friday evening at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
The victory is the fourth out of the last five that UND (11-8, 3-1 Summit) has needed the entire five sets, a first in program history. UND is now 22-9 in five-set matches during the tenure of Pryor and moves to 5-1 this season when going the distance. The Fighting Hawks have also gone 12 straight matches without a triumph via the sweep, their longest stretch since 2007.
 
"I think that we showed some resilience tonight that is encouraging," said Head Coach Mark Pryor. "We need to keep growing mentally, and tomorrow is just another opportunity to do that."
 
Lydia Rutten was dynamic on the offensive end for hosts, becoming one of five players to reach double figures in kills with a career-high 12 on just 24 swings. The sophomore has now set a new personal best in back-to-back matches, eclipsing the 10-kill plateau three times on the season. Rutten chipped in a trio of block assists and three digs in the victory.
 
Kayla Williams led the Fighting Hawks in kills with 15 while also adding 13 digs for her team-high 14th double-double this year. The junior's double-doubles in nine straight contests leads The Summit League. Williams posted her 18th service ace of the season and also collected three block assists.
 
Jordan Vail, fresh off her career-high 19-kill match against NDSU on Wednesday, reached double figures again with a 13-kill performance on Friday. The senior led UND with six block assists to push her season total to 82 which tops the league, pacing the 11 accumulated by the team.
 
Ashley Brueggeman joined her teammate with 13 kills on the night, posting her 12th match of the season with a .200 hitting percentage or better. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native was second on the team with four block assists and added the lone solo rejection.
 
Brynn Nieukirk, who also shattered her previous best in kills on Wednesday, was the final Hawk to reach double figures with 12 kills. Friday marks the fourth time in the last seven matches that the freshman has crossed the 10-kill plateau.
 
Roosa Rautio posted her sixth double-double of the season, and first since Sept. 8 at Clemson, with a 57-assist, 10-dig night. The 57 helpers mark the fifth time over the last six tilts that the freshman has tallied 40 or more assists, and her 752 total facilitators top the conference.
 
Taliyah Flores, the league's total dig leader, added to her total Friday with another solid performance from the backline. The Papillion, Neb., native recorded 30+ digs for the fourth time this season and has now gone 15 straight games with double digit digs.
 
Alivia Fraase also added 15 digs, her most since conference play began, but her leadership on the floor is something that stood out to Pryor and the rest of the team.
 
"If there was one player today that may have been the most instrumental in our comeback, it was absolutely Alivia Fraase," stressed Pryor. "She controlled the huddle before set 4, and it was emotional, but so honest, and so authentic, that I didn't need to say anything else. Sometimes the team needs to figure things out on their own, and she led the way tonight. I'm grateful for her, and I know the team is as well."
 
Tamika Brekke, who saw her three-tilt streak with a service ace come to an end vs. NDSU, returned to form with a trio of aces on Friday in the win. The defensive specialist nearly reached double figures in digs, posting nine.
 
Hot starts were a theme for North Dakota throughout the match as the Fighting Hawks set the tone in the opening set. UND rattled off 10 of the first 13 points to quickly jump out to a 10-3 lead and force an ORU (3-12, 0-3 Summit) timeout.
 
Out of the timeout the Hawks continued to roll, building a 20-9 lead thanks to strong serving from Brekke and at the net to force multiple attack errors by the Golden Eagles. Oral Roberts made a late push late in the frame, scoring eight of the next 12 points to cut the deficit down to 24-17, but Rutten powered down an emphatic kill in the middle of the floor to polish off a tidy 25-17 victory.
 
The second start began in a similar fashion for UND, taking control of the stanza following back-to-back aces again from Brekke to give the hosts a 9-3 advantage and force the Golden Eagles to burn another early timeout.
 
UND kept its foot on the gas, building a lead as big as nine, 20-11, after a 4-0 spurt; however, Oral Roberts once again began to chip away at the advantage by whittling it down to 24-21. Facing set point on eight occasions, the Golden Eagles eventually evened the frame at 24 before taking a 25-24 lead following an attack error by UND. The team's traded the next seven points before ORU broke a 28-all deadlock with back-to-back kills to complete a remarkable comeback and even the match at 1-1.
 
Riding the momentum of the victory, it was Oral Roberts who jumped out in front during the third set as the Golden Eagles held the advantage until a 7-0 spurt by the Hawks looked to change the momentum. After a huge block by Brueggeman, the junior teamed up with Rutten for another rejection to spur the run. UND continued to dial up the pressure, recording another block and forcing an attack error to build a 12-9 lead.
 
The Hawks continued to remain in front through the middle part of the frame but with the score tied at 20, Oral Roberts took control with four of the next five points to lead 24-21. After a Rutten kill brought the deficit down to two, the Golden Eagles finished off the set with a 25-22 win to take a 2-1 match lead.
 
"To be very honest, if that had happened to us a few weeks ago, I'm not sure we come back from that. To be up by nine, and then end up losing a set is tough. For us to have eight set points to go up 2-0 and we lose that set, that's a huge emotional blow. Then for us to be up 16-11 in the next set and lose that one was another gut punch for us. Down 2-1, and down 2-1 that way was pretty discouraging."
 
Faced with an unfamiliar situation at home, a young UND squad responded like a veteran team with another fast start. Bookended by blocks from Brueggeman/Rutten and the junior/Vail, the Hawks tallied six of the first seven points to force a timeout.
 
Following script, Oral Roberts climbed back into the stanza but never reached the top of this mountain as the hosts held the advantage from wire-to-wire. ORU chipped the deficit down to just a single point on three occasions, but a 5-0 spurt in the middle of the frame pushed the set out of reach.
 
Kayla Williams finished off the set with a kill as UND forced a tie-breaking fifth set with a 25-18 triumph. The Hawks held the Golden Eagles to a match-low .043 hitting percentage and forced ten attack errors in the frame.
 
A sight that both the UND team and its fans were used to seeing recently, the green and white looked right at home in the fifth set; hitting a whopping .471 in the frame. The Hawks only committed a single attack error while also siding out at 88%.
 
UND roared out of the gate again with seven of the first nine points to build a 7-2 cushion thanks to a tetrad of errors by ORU and kills from Brueggeman, Williams, and Nieukirk.
 
ORU brought the lead down to three, but another 5-2 run by the Hawks restored the 13-7 advantage and provided a jolt to the 932 in attendance. A Vail kill and attack error by ORU clinched the five-set win by UND and pushed the Hawks to a 3-1 record in Summit League play.
 
North Dakota returns to action tomorrow afternoon at the Betty in the first conference meeting between UND and South Dakota State since 2003. The contest, slated for a 4 p.m. start, can be seen live on FOX Sports North PLUS and FOX College Sports Central.