GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota's 2020-21 volleyball season came to a close at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Saturday night as North Dakota State won the finale in straight sets.
"I was really proud of the fight the team had this season. Our record doesn't show but we continued to battle the entire season even after suffering some early injuries," said Head Coach Jeremiah Tiffin. "More importantly, I was proud of the fact that we got all of our games in this season. In this crazy year that we had, that's something we can be proud of and hang our hats on."
North Dakota State jumped to an early 1-0 lead after taking the opening set 25-7 and hitting .500 in the frame. UND rallied back in the second set getting the home crowd back in the match, taking a 10-8 lead, and exchanging blows to a 21-21 score. The Hawks could not sustain the run, however, as the Bison closed the match on a 4-1 run as both teams traded five leads and 14 ties to a 25-22 finish.
Lexi Ahrens closed the night with five kills to lead the Fighting Hawks while Darian Chwialkowski tallied 16 digs. Sara Antic, who was honored alongside classmate Taylor Riedl in a postgame ceremony, notched two solo blocks to lead the match.
The Bison closed with a 25-13 final set victory to close their season 10-8 with an 8-8 record in The Summit League while North Dakota closed the year 2-16 and 2-14 in The Summit.
