GRAND FORKS, N.D. – It was all North Dakota from the opening serve on Thursday night as the 13^th playing of the UND Classic got underway from inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The Hawks brough the fight to Belmont in the tournament opener sweeping the Bruins in straight sets behind nine kills each from junior Katy Riviere and sophomore Lauren Perugini. The win moves UND's record to 4-3, while Belmont drops to 4-3.
 
The Hawks saved their best for last hitting .448 in the final frame by punching home 15 kills to just two errors in 29 total attacks. UND opened set three on a 11-3 run with six kills from four different players in addition to a service ace from senior Jarolin de los Santos Lugo and a block assist by the former and Riviere. North Dakota led by as much as nine in the last set before junior Paige Barber ended the match with a termination.
 
Sets one and two carried similar tunes with both sides battling through the halfway mark before UND grabbed the 15^th point first in each set. The Hawks held a small 11-9 lead in set one but used a 5-1 run that covered both sides of the media timeout with kills from Barber and Riviere serving as the highlights in the stretch. The two sides went even for the remainder of the match as Perugini recorded a kill and a service ace with Santos Lugo and freshman Cala Cooper combining for a denial.
 
Set two saw Riviere hammer an attack for a point to tie the set at 4-4, Barber and freshman Vanessa Washington combined for a block and sophomore Teagan Timperley produced the first of two aces as UND moved out to a 7-4 lead which quickly grew to 14-7, before the Hawks and the Bruins traded points through the remainder of the frame as the set ended via a pair of Belmont attack errors.
 
The Fighting Hawks return to the Betty on Friday night for a 6 p.m. first serve with Western Illinois. NoDak and the Leathernecks meet for the 11^th time overall and for the first time since 2022 when WIU was then a member of the Summit League. The match can be viewed on Midco Sports/Summit League Network and live stats are available at FightingHawks.com.
 
Postgame Notes

• The Hawks were the first to five in all three sets and never trailed once reaching that mark
• The sweep for UND is the first this season, the first since October 21, 2023, against Oral Roberts and the ninth under third-year head coach Jesse Tupac
• The victory is the 24^th for UND in the program's own classic
• UND moves above .500 for the first time since October 29, 2022 when the Hawks beat Kansas City in five sets to improve to 12-11 on the season
• UND held Belmont to a .072 attack percentage; its lowest by an opponent this season and the fifth time that the Hawks have held a foe under .100 in Tupac's tenure
• The Hawks registered a dozen block assists in the win and have reached that mark in all seven matches this season. UND managed to reach 12 in just three of its first seven matches last season
• The meeting was the first all-time against the two squads and it was the final of three first time foes that the Hawks have played this year (UC Irvine, West Virginia)
• UND hit .250 in the win making it the fourth time this season that the Hawks have hit .250 or better
• Eight Hawks recorded a kill with Santos Lugo and Barber following the aforementioned nine by Perugini and Riviere with four each
• Timperley led UND with 18 assists and Elizabeth Norris followed with a dozen
• Santos Lugo led UND with three aces. Timperley increased her team lead in service aces with two on Thursday night. She has 11 for the season
• Izzie McCormick led with nine digs and Maddy Hornyak followed with seven. UND delivered 37 with nine players chipping in in the category.
• Belmont's Brooke Gilleland led the Bruins with seven kills and Kamryn Olson had a dozen of BU's 25 assists

 
How It Happened
 
Set 1: UND, 25-19
Set 2: UND, 25-15
Set 3: UND, 25-18
 
For more information on North Dakota volleyball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDvolleyball.