CLEMSON, S.C. – The University of North Dakota volleyball team was defeated by UAB and Clemson, 3-0, on Saturday to close the Big Orange Bash in Clemson, S.C. over the weekend.
 
UND (5-5) competed throughout the day, but could not capture a set victory after a thrilling 3-2 victory over Troy to open the tournament on Friday.
 
"We were not very good today on a consistent enough basis to play well," said UND head coach Mark Pryor. "We showed flashes of good play, but we could not get our offense going enough with some of our go-to hitters to really put ourselves in a position to be successful."
 
Pryor hinted at his team's inability to close out sets, having leads in the first stanza in both matches but coming up short.
 
"Getting swept twice is never good, and what is frustrating is that we had chances in both matches to take set one," stressed Pryor.  "Finishing is a skill, and it's a skill that we will need to work on all year."
 
UAB 3, UND 0
In Saturday's opener, UAB rode a wild first set win en route to a morning sweep over the Hawks. The Blazers hit .224 for the match and held UND to just an .071 hitting percentage to control the pace of the match.
 
Kayla Williams reached double figures in kills (11) to lead the Fighting Hawks as the junior just missed another double-double with nine digs, three service aces, and a pair of block assists.
 
Taliyah Flores was also strong on the defensive side of the ball for UND, recording 13 digs to lead the team. The freshman has now recorded double figures in five matches this season.
 
Both teams exchanged runs in the opening set, with UAB building a 13-10 team before four straight points by the Hawks to push the green and white in front, 14-13. Lydia Rutten started the run with a kill before back-to-back blocks by Vail and a kill by the senior gave UND the lead.
 
North Dakota continued to maintain its lead for most of the opening stanza, pushing the set to its brink when a Williams kill put the Hawks up 24-22. However, the Blazers answered by tying the match at 24 and 25 to push the period into extra points. There, UAB was finally the team to string together back-to-back points to win the set, 29-27, and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
In the second, UND rallied from an early hole but UAB used a 10-2 in the middle of the set to turn an 8-7 deficit into a 17-10 advantage. From there, the Blazers continued to roll and defeated the Hawks, 25-15, to quickly take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Looking to push the match into a fourth set, North Dakota again rallied after UAB took an early lead to square the frame at 11 when Brynn Nieukirk hammered home a kill before taking a 13-12 lead with a huge double block by Kelly Wahl and Williams. With the teams trading points and UND holding a 19-18 advantage, the Blazers vaulted in front with a 4-0 run to go up 22-19. The Hawks cut the deficit to one, but UAB held on for the 25-21 victory to complete the sweep.
 
Clemson 3, UND 0
In the nightcap, the host Tigers pulled ahead late in the opening set to turn the momentum and capture a 3-0 sweep over the Fighting Hawks to close the Big Orange Bash.
 
Nieukirk was dynamic on offense for the Hawks, collecting a team-high 11 kills on just 25 swings to hit .400 in the contest. Williams poured in eight kills and eight digs while Flores again led the visitors with 11 digs for her sixth double digit game. Roosa Rautio chipped in her fifth double-double and second of the weekend with 28 assists and 10 digs.
 
UND controlled a majority of the first set, leading from the opening serve until the Tigers finally evened the match at 20. The Hawks built leads of four on two-different occasions, but Clemson continued to claw back into the match. The hosts used a 5-1 run to take a 24-21 advantage before UND brought back to 24-23, but the Tigers held on for a 25-23 win in the opening set.
 
The second set continued the theme of runs as each side strung together multiple points in the early going to exchange the lead. A Vail and Brueggeman block put UND up 13-11, but Clemson kept fighting. The Tigers pulled ahead 17-16 and never relinquished the lead to claim the second, 25-18, take a 2-0 advantage.
 
 Out of the intermission, the script was similar out of the gate as neither side could build much of a lead. UND trailed early, but evened the stanza at eight off another Nieukirk kill. The Hawks again chipped a Clemson lead down to 12-10, but the Tigers scored 13 of the final 16 points to polish off the sweep with a 25-13 win.
 
"The good news is that we have five-more opportunities to get better before we start Summit League play," said Pryor.
 
North Dakota won't wait long to get back to action, taking on North Florida Monday evening at 6 p.m. in Jacksonville, Fla. The matchup will start a string of five straight contests in the Sunshine State before Summit League play begins.