BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Led by a team hitting percentage of .308 and Sara Antic's first career double-double, the North Dakota volleyball team swept South Carolina State in three sets, 25-17, 25-12, 25-18. Freshman McKenzie Damon also added five service aces in the match.

As a team, UND held the Bulldogs to a .072 hitting percentage, including a -.081 clip in the second set. Antic closed the match with 13 kills and 11 digs while Ashley Brueggeman and Lydia Rutten added 9 and 8 kills, respectively. The Fighting Hawks finished the trip 3-1 to improve to 7-5 on the season while SCSU fell to 0-10.

"I thought we did a good job today of setting up our offense to limit our errors," said Head Coach Jeremiah Tiffin. "It was good to see us playing aggressively on the attack and putting South Carolina State in low-percentage situations. I proud of the way we played today."

Rutten was a force for the Fighting Hawks in the opening frame as she tallied five kills and three blocks to force SCSU to hit .071.

North Dakota played nearly error-free on the attack in the second set, committing its first errors after building a 24-9 lead. Antic and Damon accounted for the final five points for UND as Damon registered two aces.

Antic accounted for nine kills in the final two sets, including six in the third set. She closed the match with a .500 hitting percentage and zero attacking errors. The Fighting Hawks posted a match-high .361 average in the final frame alone.

The University of North Dakota will welcome Akron, Eastern Washington and Lamar next weekend for the UND Classic Sept. 19-21. The Fighting Hawks will open the tournament on Thursday night against EWU at 7 p.m.

UND LEADERS
Kills: Sara Antic (13), Ashley Brueggeman (9), Lydia Rutten (8)
Aces: McKenzie Damon (5), Sara Antic (2)
Blocks: Ashley Brueggeman (4), Lydia Rutten (3), Kelly Wahl (2)
Assists: Peyton Sewell (20), Julia Vetter (15), McKenzie Damon (3)
Digs: McKenzie Damon (15), Sara Antic (11), Madi Hart (11)