Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 NEW ORLEANS – Led by Ashley Brueggeman's 24 kills and .314 hitting percentage, the University of North Dakota split the opening day of the New Orleans Tournament, dropping the opener to the host Privateers in four sets and taking down Arkansas Pine Bluff in four sets in the second match of the day.

The victory over the Golden Lions was the first at North Dakota for Head Coach Jeremiah Tiffin. The Fighting Hawks had four players earn their first career starts against UNO and Tiffin saw them grow as the day went on.

"We're definitely young and there's some growing pains but you could see a little maturity come as the day went along and we started cleaning some things up and ending the day on a pretty good note. For how young we are and throwing kids into the fire, I thought we did a good job coming out and competing."

North Dakota (0-1) at New Orleans (1-0)
Trailing by five points late in the first set, a 4-0 run brought UND to within one point, 18-17, and forced UNO to take a timeout. While the Privateers gained their composure to build a 24-20 lead, the Fighting Hawks tied the contest at 24 apiece. Though New Orleans won the set, 27-25, the UND grit reappeared in the third set in the same situation as the Fighting Hawks forced a fourth set with the 28-26 win.

New Orleans took the second set, 25-18, hitting an impressive .467 with 18 kills. With the Privateers continuing their physical play, UND countered with 13 kills of its own in the third set and forced UNO to commit seven attacking errors.

Both Brueggeman and Lydia Rutten were imposing in the match as they both tallied 10 kills in the match and combined for six blocks, five of which were accounted for by Rutten. Darian Chwialkowski led North Dakota with four service aces while freshman McKenzie Damon tallied three.

UAPB (0-2) vs North Dakota (1-1)
After dropping a tightly contested first set, which Arkansas Pine Bluff walked away with a 25-23 first set victory, North Dakota responded in the second set with a 25-19 triumph at the turn.

The Golden Lions continued to battle with the Fighting Hawks in the third set, cutting their deficit to within two points halfway through the set, 15-13. UND outlasted the UAPB surge to take a 2-1 lead in the match after a 25-20 win.

The fourth set was all Fighting Hawks as they won the set 25-16.

Kelly Wahl amassed a career-high nine blocks, including two solo, as well as three kills. Brueggeman led North Dakota with 14 kills and 17 points while Darian Chwialkowski accrued 13 kills and 16.5 points.

As a team, the Fighting Hawks totaled 13 service aces and 15 blocks. The team also hit .224, totaling 51 kills.

UND will close the New Orleans Tournament tomorrow morning, taking on Louisiana Monroe at noon Central.