GREEN BAY, Wisc. – Junior pin hitter Paige Barber delivered 14 kills at a .500 clip and North Dakota put together a dominate performance to sweep host Green Bay from inside the Kress Center at the Capital Credit Union Classic. The win improves UND to 7-4 and concludes non-conference action for the Hawks, while the loss drops the Phoenix to 3-9.
 
Barber put together an impressive first set recording eight kills to lead UND which hit a collective .517 in the opening frame. Barber's first kill of the afternoon gave UND an early 3-2 lead, her second tied the set at 5-5 and her next three were all in succession as a personal 3-0 run opened up the Hawks' 11-9 advantage to 14-9. A kill from junior Katy Riviere prompted the set one media timeout and Barber delivered first following the break as the Hawks built a 16-9 lead that would stand as Barber finished off the frame with a termination.
 
Set two saw seven tied scores with a kill from freshman Vanessa Washington the final one as UND evened the set at 15-15. That termination jumpstarted a 10-4 run for the Hawks with an Izzie McCormick service ace and kills from Riviere, sophomore Lauren Perugini and senior Jarolin de los Santos Lugo giving UND a 19-16 lead. Riviere's second kill of the stretch gave way to a block by Santos Lugo and freshman Cala Cooper and a pair of kills by Barber to highlight the back end of the run.
 
The final frame saw the Hawks run out to a 19-12 lead, but the Phoenix responded to pull within 22-21 in an effort to stave off a sweep. Kills from Santos Lugo sandwiched a service ace by Perugini as the Hawks held off GB to end the match in three.  
 
North Dakota begins Summit League play on Thursday in Omaha. The Hawks take on the defending regular season and tournament champion Mavericks at 7 p.m. inside Baxter Arena. The action can be seen on the Summit League Network and live stats for the contest will be available at FightingHawks.com.
 
Postgame Notes

• UND's overall attack rate of .367 is a season-best effort, its best under third-year head coach Jesse Tupac and the best by the program since hitting .423 in a sweep of Montana on October 14, 2017
• The Hawks' seven wins in first 11 matches of the season is the best such start to a campaign since UND started the 2017 season 10-1
• UND has matched its win total from a season ago. The Hawks won their seventh game of the 2023 season on November 14
• Barber's 14 kills and .500 attack clip are both the second-best efforts by the junior this season as each follow her performance against Tulane (15; .520)
• Santos Lugo hit a scorching .778 from the middle to record seven kills, while Riviere's seven kills came behind a .385 attack clip
• Washington followed the elder middle's performance with six kills at .667
• UND reached seven aces for the sixth time this season
• Green Bay's .165 attack clip marked the sixth match this season that a UND opponent failed to hit north of .170
• Timperley finished with 21 assists in her sixth match this season with 20 or more and Elizabeth Norris added 13
• Norris' effort pushed her into the top ten all-time in career assists as a Hawk. She eclipsed the 1,700 assists mark and enters Summit League play with 1,725
• Perugini led with 14 digs and two service aces and McCormick followed with ten digs and a service ace
• Cooper led UND with three total blocks

 
How It Happened
 
Set 1: UND, 25-18
Set 2: UND, 25-19
Set 3: UND, 25-22
 
For more information on North Dakota volleyball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDvolleyball.