ST. PAUL, Minn. – In a match that saw 49 ties and 23 lead changes, the North Dakota volleyball team lost a tough one to St. Thomas (25-16, 31-29, 26-28, 26-24) on Thursday night from Schoenecker Arena. UND drops to 5-13 and 2-5 in conference play, while St. Thomas improves to 11-6 and 4-2 in the Summit League.
It was a very competitive match, with the final three sets all forced to go past the 25-point win mark. The Hawks compiled 42 kills on the night, logging 29 of them in the final two sets of the match.
Offensively,
Paige Barber had a team-high 13 kills, along with
Vanessa Washington who recorded a season best nine kills on a .471 hit percentage. The Marietta, Ga. native also tallied four blocks and two service aces, good for the first two of her career.
Ava Galvan registered eight kills and
Matthea Dalton had five.
Washington and Barber combined for eight of the teams 12 block assists, helped out by Galvan with two, and one each from
Sadie White and Dalton. UND had 61 digs compared to 59 of St. Thomas, with
Izzie McCormick (17), White (12) and
Skylar Darr (12) combining for 41-of-the-61 digs (67.2%) on the night. The 12 digs were season-high from Darr.
Set one was back and forth for a good portion of the frame seeing nine ties and four lead changes. UND fell behind 2-0 early, but the Hawks got two back to tie the score at two apiece. St. Thomas opened a lead up to four with an 8-4 advantage, but North Dakota battled back with an 11-5 run to take a 15-13 lead. From there, St. Thomas used a 12-1 run to end the set, winning 25-16.
Set two turned into an absolute battle, with 12 ties and eight lead changes. North Dakota trailed by as many as six, being down 15-9, but used a 10-4 run to tie it at 19-19. From that point, it was a war, with St. Thomas having match point up 24-22, but a Tommie's service error and Barber kill tied it at 24-24. The Hawks took 26-25, 27-26 and 29-28 leads, while also staging off a 28-27 deficit. With the score tied at 29-29, St. Thomas tallied two points to end the set, winning 31-29.
Set three featured 21 ties and 10 lead changes, as neither team led by more than two points in the entire set. North Dakota staged off three match-point opportunities for St. Thomas, in 24-23, 25-24 and 26-25 deficits, finding ways to keep it going. Tied at 26-26, the Hawks scored the final two points off St. Thomas attack errors, to win the frame 28-26.
Set four saw just seven ties and one lead change, with North Dakota leading for the first 15 points of the set, holding an 8-7 advantage. St. Thomas was able to flip the score, never trailing the rest of the frame. The Hawks were on the verge of losing as St. Thomas held a 24-22 lead, but a service error and attack error from the Tommie's made it 24-24. St. Thomas from there was able to score two consecutive points to end the set, 26-24.
The Fighting Hawks will be back in action on Tuesday at home against South Dakota State at 7 p.m. Coverage can be found on Midco Sports.
Postgame Notes
- UND drops to 3-7 all-time against St. Thomas
- The match saw 49 ties and 23 lead changes with the final three sets all forced to go beyond 25 points to win
- Barber had a team-high 13 kills, good for her 15th double-digit kill match of the season
- Washington had a season high nine kills on a .471 hit percentage
- Washington recorded her first two service aces of her career and a season-high four blocks
- White had 32 assists, eclipsing the 500-assist mark on the season
- McCormick was tied for a match-high with 17 digs
- Darr recorded a season best 12 digs
- 29 of the Hawks 42 kills came in sets three and four
How It Happened
Set 1: St. Thomas 25-16
Set 2: St. Thomas 31-29
Set 3: UND 28-26
Set 4: St. Thomas 26-24
For more information on North Dakota Volleyball, visit Fightinghawks.com or follow-on social media @UNDvolleyball.
--UND--
