MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The University of North Dakota volleyball team dropped a five-set match to Butler, 3-2, on Saturday morning to close out its weekend in Mount Pleasant, Mich. 

UND (1-5) nearly made it two wins over BIG EAST Conference foes in back-to-back weekends, but the Bulldogs (3-3) rallied with victories in the fourth and fifth sets to pick up the win.

Ashlyn Olson had her best day as a Fighting Hawk so far, matching the team lead with a career-high 12 kills on 35 swings to post a .257 hitting percentage. Lexi Ahrens matched the freshman with 12 kills of her own and hit a team-best .345. The two combined for 11 of the 16 blocks by the Fighting Hawks in the match, with Ahrens tallying six and Olson with five. 

Peyton Sewell and Kortney Carney each tallied double-doubles in the loss, with Sewell registering 25 helpers and 12 digs and Carney posting 17 dimes and 11 digs. The duo of Madi Hart and Maddy Hornyak both picked up at least 20 digs, as Hart led the Hawks with 25. 

Service aces were the story for the Fighting Hawks throughout the match, picking up 12 on the day. Hornyak (4), Carney (3) and Hart (2) each recorded multi-ace outings to help UND post its highest ace total since Feb. 22, 2021 at Omaha. 

 Butler jumped out to a strong start in the opening set, building a 9-4 lead, but North Dakota rallied back. Five of the next six points went the way of the green and white to help knot the score at 10 before another scoring spurt put UND in front by a pair, 14-12, midway through the stanza. After the Hawks built the lead as high as three and a Butler rally cut it to just one at 20-19, UND ended the frame strong with an ace from Hornyak and a kill from Alexa Albinson to take the first set, 25-21. 

The second set followed a similar script as the first, with both sides trading points for a majority of the frame; however, a 7-2 run by the Bulldogs helped them build a 23-18 advantage and hold on for the 25-22 victory to even the match at one. 

It was more of the same in the third, with Butler building an early lead, but this time it was a UND rally that turned the tide of the set. A 7-1 run by the Hawks, headlined by a pair of aces, pushed the advantage to 14-9 and forced a Bulldog timeout. The momentum was held by UND for the remainder of the set, hitting a match-best .229 for the frame to post a 25-19 victory in the third set to move ahead, 2-1, in the match. 

Butler was able to battle back with a pair of wins in the final two sets to complete the comeback and hold off the UND upset bid. 

North Dakota returns to action next weekend to open the home slate of the schedule against Drake on Sept. 10 in the UND Classic at 7 p.m.