GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota volleyball team closed out its homestand with a match against South Dakota Thursday night, looking for their first win over the Coyotes since September 2015. In a hard fought, five set thriller the Fighting Hawks lost 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 16-18). Marissa Stockman had a big night for NoDak with a team high 13 kills and ten blocks, while Elizabeth Norris came one kill short of a triple double with 25 assists, 11 digs and nine kills.
UND came out hot in the first set, jumping out to an 8-5 lead. The set swung back and forth like a pendulum, but ultimately the Fighting Hawks took the set with a 7-2 run to close the frame. The defense guided the green and white in the first set as they limited USD to a .056 hitting percentage in the frame.
Momentum stayed on the side of the hosts as UND took the first three points of the second set, but the Coyotes would fight back and lead for a large part of the stanza. Down 19-13, a 7-0 run for the Fighting Hawks gave NoDak a brief lead but they could not hold it as USD tied the match.
Early on South Dakota led in the third set, but an 8-0 run from Fighting Hawks put them one point up at 16-15. Stockman gathered two kills in the stretch. But after USD knotted it at 17, they closed the frame on a 8-5 run to go up 2-1 in the match.
The fourth set involved more swinging of the pendulum, as both teams took turns taking the lead and seeing the opposition catch back up. From an 18-18 tie, UND closed the frame on an 8-4 run to force a decisive fifth set.
Early in set number five USD had the edge, but it did not take long for UND to catch back up and they would go ahead for the first matchpoint at 14-12 following a kill from McCallister Gayle. Two straight points made the set a deuce, and then USD got their first matchpoint. A service error tied it again at 15, and Norris got a kill to give UND its second matchpoint. USD fought it off and closed the match on a 3-0 run to take the match.
Postgame Notes
· It was the second time in the last three meetings that UND took USD to five sets.
· Stockman set a new career high with ten block assists.
· Teagan Timperley reached double digits in assists for the 16th straight match with 17, with her third double-double of the season with 11 digs.
· Gayle also reached double-digit kills with 11.
· Izzie McCormick tied a season high with 20 digs and tied Norris with a team high two aces.
How it Happened
First set: UND 25, USD 19
Second set: USD 25, UND 21
Third set: USD 25, UND 22
Fourth set: UND 25, USD 22
Fifth set: USD 18, UND 16
