GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota volleyball team fell to Denver (25-16, 25-14, 25-17) on Thursday night from Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. UND falls to 4-12 and 1-4 in Summit League play, while Denver moves to 12-4 and 4-1 in conference play.

For the 13th time this season, Paige Barber led the match in kills, totaling 13 on the night. Barber recorded 44.8 percent (13-of-29 kills) of the Hawks kills on the night, with Ava Galvan logging five kills (.625 hit percentage) on the evening.

Izzie McCormick had a team high 10 digs, along with nine from Sadie White and eight from Barber, as the trio combined for 27 of the teams 40 digs (67.5 percent) in the match. Marianna Rivera and Matthea Dalton each had two blocks.

UND led by as many as three in set one, as White opened up the match with a kill to go up 1-0. The Hawks held onto leads throughout the first 13 points of the frame, with a Barber kill putting North Dakota up 8-5. Denver responded with a 7-0 run to go up 12-8 and did not look back, taking set one, 25-16.

Set two featured three ties and one lead change, with the Hawks jumping out to a 1-0 lead again, this time off a Barber kill. Following an An den Hamer kill to go up 2-1, the Pioneers went on an 11-3 run to take a 12-5 lead. UND scored the next two points to cut the deficit to 12-7, but that was as close as the Hawks would come, dropping set two, 25-14.

North Dakota fell behind 3-0 in set three, but showed great promise, going on a 12-5 run to corral its largest lead of the match, 12-8. Denver responded with a 6-0 run to take a 14-12 lead and an 11-1 extended burst to go up 19-13. The Pioneers outscored the Hawks by two the rest of the way, taking set three, 25-17. The Hawks hit for a set-high, .179 percent in the frame.


UND will take on Oral Roberts at home on Saturday at 1 p.m. Coverage can be found on The Summit League Network.
Postgame Notes

• Paige Barber had a match-high 13 kills, her 13th time this season leading/being tied for the match high
• Izzie McCormick had a team best 10 digs, her ninth double-digit dig game on the season
• Sadie White had 19 assists, good for the most in the match
• North Dakota won the kills battle 29-28 and tied the digs battle 40-40
• Galvan hit for a career best, .625 on the evening
• UND falls to 1-14 all-time against Denver 

How It Happened
Set 1: Denver 25-16
Set 2: Denver 25-14
Set 3: Denver 25-17

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