TULSA, Okla. – Four Fighting Hawks delivered at least nine kills highlighted by 11 terminations each from junior Paige Barber and freshman Vanessa Imoh and North Dakota volleyball snapped an eight-match Summit League losing skid in a big way by hitting .297, its best attack clip ever in a Summit League match, and rallying back multiple times throughout Thursday night's action inside the Mabee Center including an 8-0 deficit to start set two. UND picked up its second Summit League win of the season and second against the Golden Eagles to improve to 9-14 overall with a 2-10 mark in conference play. The victory keeps the Hawks in reach for the final tournament spot with four matches remaining on the regular season docket.
 
Five opening set kills from Barber and four, including the set clincher, from Imoh powered North Dakota in the first frame. UND hit .237 and benefitted from three service aces. Action was back-and-forth as the two sides battled to nine tied scores with the latest coming at 16-16. Three terminations from Barber and kills from redshirt freshman Olivia Edlund and senior Jarolin de los Santos Lugo pushed the Hawks out front 21-17. UND needed three terminations from Imoh and a service ace from Maddy Hornyak to fend off the Golden Eagles down the stretch.
 
North Dakota would be unable to carry the momentum into the second set as ORU opened on an 8-0 run with the Hawks' first tally of the frame coming on the ninth point. However, UND responded by scoring ten of the next 16 points of the set as the advantage during that stretch prompted a Golden Eagles timeout at 14-10. Moments later, consecutive kills from sophomore Lauren Perugini brought the Hawks to within two of the deficit at 16-14. An ace from Perugini split a pair of ORU attack errors as the Hawks rallied all the way back to even the frame at 17-17. The late stretch of the set saw ties of 18-18, 19-19 and 20-20, before UND utilized a trio of put aways by Perugini to take the frame.
 
Set three ended like the two aforementioned frames before it with the Hawks relying on a collective group of hot hands. Trailing 20-16, Perugini terminated and junior Izzie McCormick delivered a service ace as the tide began to turn in favor of the Hawks. Following an ORU timeout with the host holding a 20-18 lead and McCormick serving, junior Katy Riviere killed three of the next four points along with Imoh's tenth to give UND a 22-20 lead. It was all Hawks from there as Imoh's 11^th termination split point-scoring middle attacks from Santos Lugo to give the Hawks a much-needed victory.
 
North Dakota heads up to Denver for a Saturday noon match up against the Pioneers. UND went five with DU before falling 15-13 in the final frame at home on October 5. The action can be seen on the Summit League Network and live stats will be available at FightingHawks.com.
 
Postgame Notes

• The straight-sets victory is the fourth for the Fighting Hawks this season and first in league play giving head coach Jesse Tupac a dozen sweeps total and nine in SL action since the start of the 2022 season
• North Dakota hit .297 as a team which stands as its third-highest attack clip this season and its highest ever in a Summit League match
• UND delivered a three-set match high in kills with 52
• Imoh delivered a new career high in the win with 11 kills as she hit .250
• Barber's 11 kills came at a clip of .350
• Santos Lugo and Perugini both added nine kills
• The offense was balanced behind an even effort directing the attack as sophomore Teagan Timperley led with 26 assists and graduate Elizabeth Norris followed with two dozen helpers
• The Hawks' two blocks on the night are the fewest under Tupac in a winning effort
• Hornyak recorded 10 digs and is now 56 digs away from 1,000 for her career
• Perugini led with a dozen digs as 11 players dug an attack on Thursday night
• Norris moved 47 helpers away from reaching 2K for her career
• Santos Lugo added two blocks and an ace. She finds herself 11 denials and a single point-scoring serve away from becoming the first player in UND's DI era to register 100 blocks and 30 aces in a single season
• The win is the sixth for UND this season when winning the opening set and the 11^th time overall that the Hawks have claimed the first frame

How It Happened
 
Set 1: UND, 25-23
Set 2: UND, 25-23
Set 3: UND, 25-21
 
For more information on North Dakota volleyball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDvolleyball.