GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota volleyball team fell to Omaha in four sets (24-26, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19) on Thursday night. The Hawks drop to 7-18 and 4-10 in the conference while Omaha goes to 9-14 overall and 6-8 in summit league play.

The Hawks took set one and jumped out to a 9-0 lead in set two, as UND was led by Paige Barber who manufactured a match-high 17 kills, her 10th performance of 15 or more kills this season.

Izzie McCormick had a game best 26 digs, while Katy Riviere recorded a career-high nine digs and a season-high nine kills. Riviere tied her high this season with three blocks, along with Vanessa Washington, Ava Galvan and Mattie Dalton who each had three blocks as well.

Set one saw nine ties and three lead changes, with the Hawks falling behind by as many as five, trailing 14-9. The switch flipped when UND went on a 9-4 run to tie the match at 18-18. With the score tied at 22-22, NoDak scored two consecutive points to bring it to set point, but the Mavericks answered with two of their own to make it 24-24. From there an Omaha service error gave the Hawks a one-point advantage and Barber tallied a service ace to give UND the set one 26-24 win.

Set two was all North Dakota in the beginning, as the Hawks scored nine straight out the gate to take a 9-0 advantage. Omaha responded with a 9-2 run to force a Hawks timeout as UND led 11-9. North Dakota stayed strong fighting off the Mavericks for some time, leading 19-16 through 35 points, before Omaha went on a 6-1 run to take a 22-20 lead. The Mavericks scored three more consecutive points, ending the set on a 9-1 run to win set two, 25-20.

UND got off to a good start in a crucial set three, going up 2-0 and 13-11 in the frame. The Mavericks scored four consecutive points to make it 15-13 heading into the media timeout. UND battled, scoring four of the next six points in the set, headlined by a Reagan McIntosh service ace to tie the game at 17-17, forcing an Omaha timeout. The Mavericks ended the set on an 8-4 run, taking set three by a 25-21 margin.

The Hawks positioned themselves nicely early on in set four, holding an 8-5 lead. The Mavericks answered with a 10-5 run to gain control of the frame, going up 15-13. UND was unable to come back from that as Omaha ended the set on a 10-6 run from that moment, winning frame four by a 25-19 score.

North Dakota will conclude its 2025 home slate on Saturday for senior day at 1 p.m. against St. Thomas.

Postgame Notes

• UND drops to 13-58 all-time against Omaha
• Barber had a match-high in kills for the 17th time this season and had her 10th performance of 15 or more kills
• Barber sits 17 kills away from 1,000 for her career
• McCormick had her fourth 20 or more digs performance of the season
• McCormick compiled two service aces today, giving her 36 on the season just two behind Teodara Tepavac for the most aces in a season in UND Division l history
• Riviere totaled a season best nine kills and a career best nine digs, while tying a season-high of three total blocks
• The match had 28 ties and 11 lead changes overall

How It Happened
Set 1: UND 26, UNO 24
Set 2: UNO 25, UND 20
Set 3: UNO 25, UND 21
Set 4: UNO 25, UND 19

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