GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota shook off a sluggish start in the opening set and overcame a Southern Illinois-Edwardsville set-winning rally in the fourth frame to outlast the Cougars in five sets on Friday night inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The win evens the Fighting Hawks' 2024 record to 2-2. SIUE falls to 1-4.
 
The final point for the Fighting Hawks came in emphatic fashion as the trio of Jarolin de los Santos Lugo, Paige Barber and Cala Cooper combined for a denial to put the exclamation point on the five-set victory. It capped a productive night for Santos Lugo, who celebrated her birthday in addition to the win, as she recorded seven kills (.308), five digs, five total blocks and an ace. The veteran middle shared the front line spotlight with collegiate rookie Vanessa Washington who, in just her fourth college match, accounted for 11 kills (.409) and seven total blocks.
 
That final set saw each side trade points before the Hawks built upon a slim 9-7 lead with a kill by Washington and a combo block from Santos Lugo and Lauren Perugini. Santos Lugo aided with two more kills down the stretch and Barber terminated with her 17^th kill of the night to send the Hawks to match point where the front line executed.
 
The Fighting Hawks nearly ended the match in the fourth set as a balanced attack midway through saw kills by Katy Riviere, Perugini, freshman Cala Cooper, and Barber push UND to a 14-9 lead. North Dakota led 15-11 at the media timeout and following a block assist by Riviere and Washington the advantage grew to 20-13. However, the Cougars rallied and closed on a 14-5 run to force a fifth set.
 
UND hit .194 in set two and used three aces and four total blocks to even the match and used that momentum to attack at .367 with three aces and three total blocks in the third set to carry the 2-1 lead into the fourth. UND struggled in the early going of the contest as the Cougars aced the Hawks five times in the first set in addition to hitting .312.
 
The Fighting Hawks are back in action on Saturday morning for an 11 a.m. first serve with Northern Iowa. The Panthers topped SIUE in four sets on Friday afternoon to even their overall record to 2-2. The match can be viewed on the Summit League Network and live stats are available at FightingHawks.com. Admission is free for fans.
 
Postgame Notes

• Barber recorded a team and season-high 17 kills at .242
• Cooper crossed over double-digit kills for the fourth time in as many career matches.
• Washington's 11 kills matched her combined output over the first three matches of her young career. She also registered a career-high in blocks and total attacks (22).
• Elizabeth Norris delivered 31 helpers as she aided with 30 or more for the third time this season.
• Teagan Timperley assisted on 23 kills and added three service aces.
• UND produced 13.5 total blocks, its most this season. The Fighting Hawks have recorded a dozen or more blocks in three of four matches this season. UND recorded a combined three matches with a dozen or more blocks in 2022 and 2023.
• UND's 60 digs are its most through four matches.
• The Hawks' win in the home debut for the first time under head coach Jesse Tupac.
• SIUE's Sydney Hummert delivered a dozen kills but hit just .027. Ainsley Ranstead added 11.
• The Cougars recorded 11 aces: the most from a UND opponent this season.

 
How It Happened
 
Set 1: SIUE, 25-17
Set 2: UND, 25-20
Set 3: UND, 25-14
Set 4: SIUE, 27-25
Set 5: UND, 15-10
 
For more information on North Dakota volleyball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDvolleyball.