GRAND FORKS, N.D. – On a day where the North Dakota volleyball program celebrated 50 years of its founding, the Fighting Hawks defeated Oral Roberts for the second time this season; sweeping the Golden Eagles 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-16). Kaycee O'Dell paced the Fighting Hawks attack with nine kills on 18 attacks, hitting over .400 for the fifth time this season.
Early on the first set was neck and neck between the two teams, but UND pulled ahead with an 8-4 run in the middle of the frame, spurred on by a kill from McCallister Gayle and an ace from Izzie McCormick. NoDak led the rest of the set, ending it on a 4-0 run with kills from Elizabeth Norris and Lauren Perugini.
ORU got out in front early in the second set, but the green and white didn't waste much time as they took its first lead at 6-5 with a block from Jarolin de los Santos Lugo and Norris. However, the set would seesaw back and forth as ORU took an 11-8 lead following five straight points. Out of the timeout UND went on a 5-1 run that featured two kills and a block from Lugo. Momentum flipped back to ORU, but an 8-0 run from the green and white made it 22-19 in favor of the hosts. UND got to setpoint at 24-20, but ORU fought off four straight points to tie the set. The set concluded on back-to-back errors from the Golden Eagles as UND went up 2-0.
Momentum stayed with the home side as UND got the first four points of the third stanza, but ORU would fight back and keep the set close. NoDak separated the teams for good with a 9-1 run, boosted by a pair of kills from Gayle and a kill from Perugini ended the match.
The Fighting Hawks will end a three match homestand this coming Thursday, hosting South Dakota State.
Postgame Notes
· Lugo made her first Summit League start today, hitting .444 with four kills on nine attacks with no errors.
· Maddy Hornyak reached double-digit digs for the second straight match with 11.
· As a team UND hit .255 while limiting ORU to .068.
· The Fighting Hawks totaled five aces, with McCormick leading with two. Teagan Timperley, Hornyak and Norris each had one.
· McCormick led the green and white with 20 digs and tallied seven assists.
How it Happened
First set: UND 25, ORU 18
Second set: UND 28, ORU 26
Third set: UND 25, ORU 16
