Box Score DENVER – Thursday night marked the start of Summit League play for both Denver and North Dakota, with the two teams meeting in the Mile High City. Denver defended its home court with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-17) victory over the Fighting Hawks.
Denver jumped off to a fast start in set number one, scoring the first six points. A kill from
Paige Barber finally got UND on the board, but the Hawks were playing catch up the whole set. Later, a 5-0 run from NoDak got the Hawks within five at 20-15 behind two kills from Barber and an ace from
Teagan Timperley. After a Denver timeout, UND would get as close as three before the set ended at 24-21 but the Hawks ran out of time as the Pioneers took the first set.
UND found themselves on the back foot again in the second frame as Denver jumped out to a 10-2 lead. But two straight points, including an ace from
Olivia De Jong, pulled UND within six at 10-4. But the green and white would get no closer than six points at any point the rest of the frame as Denver went up 2-0 in the match.
Marissa Stockman got the Fighting Hawks on the board first in the third set, and the first third of the set was tightly contested. A 3-0 run from UND with kills from Stockman and
Maddie Lipetzky tied the frame at 9-9, but Denver answered with three straight of their own; and NoDak would not lead the rest of the match. Back-to-back kills from
Kaycee O'Dell and
Lauren Perugini made it 15-14 but six straight points the way of the Pioneers put the set out of reach for UND.
Postgame Notes
- Elizabeth Norris led the Hawks in kills (eight) and assists (14)
- Timperley notched her 12th straight match in double digit assists with 13
- Skylar Darr led the team with nine digs
- Five players recorded an ace (De Jong, Timperley, Darr, Norris, Lipetzky)
How it Happened
Set 1 – Denver 25, UND 21
Set 2 – Denver 25, UND 18
Set 3 – Denver 25, UND 17
