GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota held its own against The Summit League's reigning champion South Dakota in its home-opener, hitting as high as .471 against the Coyotes. Still, USD hit that much better on the night as it defeated UND in straight sets, 13-25, 13-25, 18-25.

South Dakota hit .327 on the afternoon and hit as high as .600 when North Dakota was at its best. Lexi Ahrens led North Dakota with seven kills and 7.5 points, hitting .500 in the match, while Sara Antic recorded six kills. Defensively, Darian Chwialkowski recorded 26 digs, averaging 8.7 per set.

"I thought we played pretty well today, and we had our moments where we competing with them at their level, but South Dakota is a really good team. They really showed us how much work we have to do to be at their at level," said Head Coach Jeremiah Tiffin.
The Fighting Hawks opened the match with a hitting percentage of ..241, reaching 12 kills with five errors. However, USD hit perfectly in the frame, recording an attacking percentage of .500 to take the early lead.

A fast start by the Yotes, who are receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll, rallied them to a 10-point lead, 20-10, and finished the set with an identical 25-13 victory. North Dakota rallied in the third set, frustrating the Coyotes' offense and disrupting their usual rhythm. USD hit .200 in the stanza and committed four errors on the attack.

As the Fighting Hawks continued their back and forth with USD, a replay challenge by Coach Tiffin gave North Dakota some momentum as it tied the match at 11. UND would reach the media break with a narrow 15-13 deficit, but USD closed the game out with a 10-5 run despite the Hawks' best efforts to close the gap.

UND and South Dakota will close the series tomorrow afternoon at The Betty Engelstad Sioux Center with the first serve at 1 p.m. Central. The match will broadcast on UND Insider with Paul Ralston on the call.