PEORIA, Ill. – On Saturday morning, the University of North closed its non-conference season, battling Big Sky Conference title contender Northern Colorado in the opening two frames before falling in three sets, 27-29, 19-25, 16-25.
 
All-Tournament selection Lexi Ahrens led the Fighting Hawks with 11 kills and a .527 hitting percentage in the match, committing just one error in 19 swings. McCallister Gayle was strong on the attack with seven kills and hit .400, while Sofia Hedqvist tallied seven kills as well.
 
The Fighting Hawks showed no quit in the opening quarter, never allowing the Bears to lead by more than three points. Both teams rallied back and forth to a 23-21 UND lead until UNC reached set point 24-23. UND was the first to force a deuce set and rallied to set point twice, but Northern Colorado took the early 1-0 lead in the match with a final 3-0 run.
 
Despite the setback, North Dakota opened the second frame with a 10-6 lead as it forced three UNC attacking errors while Gayle tallied two early kills. An 8-1 Bears run put Northern Colorado back on top, but the Fighting Hawks did not go down without a fight, closing the gap to three points, 22-19, until the Bears finished the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The North Dakota defense was a solid presence in the match as it outblocked Northern Colorado, 8-7, and tallied 49 digs thanks to double-digit efforts by Abi McGlynn (12) and Madi Hart (10). Kelly Wahl was just that in the middle for UND as she led the Fighting Hawks with five stops while Gayle posted three alongside her. McGlynn also registered two service aces to pace North Dakota.
 
The Fighting Hawks will open Summit League next week when it hosts Oral Roberts on Thursday, Sept. 23, and Kansas City on Saturday, Sept. 25 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.