GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota volleyball team fell, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-23) to Omaha on Saturday morning from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D.
UND (12-15, 9-7 Summit League) battled in every set, but came up short to close out the home season with a 4-7 record.
Ashlyn Olson paced the Fighting Hawks with nine kills, while Sierra Ward and Paige Barber each tallied five. Elizabeth Norris led with 17 assists to finish as the only NoDak player with over double-digit helpers and also notched 11 digs to record another double-double.
Neither side could create much separation through the opening set, with the frame seeing nine ties and two lead changes. With the score even at 14, Omaha used a 7-2 run to build its largest lead of the set and build a 1-0 advantage with a 25-20 set victory.
It was North Dakota who came out of the gates with some strong offense in the opening portion of the second set, building an early 7-2 lead on a pair of aces from Maddy Hornyak, two kills from Ward and kills from Olson and Marissa Stockman to force an early Omaha timeout. Out of the break, the Mavs started to rally before eventually knotting the score at 14 and taking a 20-17 lead. UND wouldn't go down without a fight, cutting the lead down to 23-21, but the Mavs closed out the set to take a 2-0 advantage at the intermission.
The Fighting Hawks continued to show their fight in the third frame, battling back from a 17-8 deficit with a 9-2 run to cut the lead to just 19-17. The hosts kept pushing, trimming the advantage to just one, 24-23, on a kill from Norris, but Omaha finished off the sweep with the final point.
North Dakota hits the road for the final two games of the regular season, beginning with South Dakota State on Thursday night from Brookings.
Postgame Notes
- Omaha finished with a .302 hitting percentage compared to .158 for UND
- UND totaled six service aces, led by Hornyak's three
- Omaha had five blocks while UND had three
- UND was held to under 45 percent in sideout chances over the final two sets
- Norris notched a double-double with 17 assists and 11 digs
How It Happened
- Set 1: UNO 25, UND 20
- Set 2: UNO 25, UND 21
- Set 3: UNO 25, UND 23
