GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota volleyball team picked up a conference victory on Thursday night over Kansas City (25-19, 14-25, 25-18, 25-23) from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. UND improves to 6-14 and 3-6 in Summit League play, while Kansas City drops to 3-19 and 2-7 in conference play.

The Hawks took set one, dropped set two and won sets three and four to solidify the win. It was a balanced attack offensively, with three UND players logging double-digit kills for the second time this season, led by Mattie Dalton who had a match-high 12 kills. Paige Barber had 11 kills and Ava Galvan contributed with a career best 10 kills. Vanessa Washington recorded nine, as UND hit for  .308% as a team and had 52 kills compared to 47 from Kansas City.

North Dakota dominated in the blocks department, recording seven team blocks compared to just three from the Roos. Galvan had a career best four blocks, followed by three from Washington. Izzie McCormick had 15 digs, while Barber had 11.

Sadie White delivered her fourth 40 or more assist match tonight, recording 42 of the teams 46 assists (91.3%).

Set one was close for a good portion of the frame, as the two teams were within two points of each other through the first 20 points, with the score tied 10-10. North Dakota created some breathing room, going on a 4-0 run in that situation to take a 14-10 lead and never looked back. The set featured nine ties and three lead changes, with UND leading by as many as eight, taking set one, 25-19.

Set two was mainly controlled by the Roos, but UND trailed just 5-4 after nine points. From there, Kansas City went on an 11-5 run to go up 16-9 and ended up winning the set, 25-14.

In a pivotal third set, the Hawks hit for .389 while Kansas City hit .081. North Dakota trailed 4-2 and 6-4, but began to turn it around when the score was tied at 9-9, as UND used a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 advantage. With North Dakota leading 21-18, the freshman duo of Galvan and Dalton each had two kills to allow the Hawks to end the set on a 4-0 run, taking the frame 25-18.

Set four saw 15 ties and six lead changes, as it was a battle. Neither team led by more than one point through the first 35 points of the set, with Norh Dakota clinging onto a 18-17 lead at that point. The Hawks began to steadily wear down the Roos, scoring six of the next 10 points in the match, to have them on the brink of sealing the deal, up 24-21. Two consecutive points from the Roos brought the match within one, but Barber called game on a kill from the right side, capping off a .414 hit percentage set as a team to win the frame, 25-23.

North Dakota will conclude its three-match week at South Dakota on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Postgame Notes

• North Dakota improves to 5-9 all-time against Kansas City, beating the Roos for the first time since Oct. 29, 2022
• UND had three players in double-figure kills for the second time this season
• Dalton had a game-high 12 kills, her second match this season with double-digit kills
• Galvan had a career best in both kills (10) and blocks (4)
• Barber recorded her second double-double of her career with 11 kills and 11 digs, good for her 16th performance with double-digit kills this season
• McCormick had her 13th double-digit digs match of the year with 15 tonight
• Washington now has 22 kills on a .455 hit percentage and 11 blocks over her last three matches
• White had her fourth 40 or more assist game, dishing out 42-of-46 of the teams assists tonight
• UND is now 4-6 at home this season
• UND hit for .308 as a team tonight, including .389 and .414 in the final two sets
• The match featured 30 ties and 10 lead changes

How It Happened
Set 1: UND 25, Kansas City 19
Set 2: Kansas City 25, UND 14
Set 3: UND 25, Kansas City 18
Set 4: UND 25, Kansas City 23

For more information on North Dakota Volleyball, visit Fightinghawks.com or follow-on social media @UNDvolleyball.
--UND--