MACON, Ga. – The North Dakota volleyball team fell to Mercer (25-21, 24-26, 25-17, 25-23) in four sets from Hawkins Arena on Friday evening in the Mercer Invitational. UND drops to 2-8, while Mercer improves to 3-9.

The Hawks were led offensively by Paige Barber (15) and Lauren Perugini (12), as the duo combined for 27 of the teams 51 kills (.529 percent). Barber has now logged 15 or more kills in three consecutive matches and Perugini has had double-digit kills in back-to-back contests.

Izzie McCormick had a team high 23 digs, while Vanessa Washington contributed on the defensive end with three total blocks. Sadie White had a game high 28 assists.

Set one featured one tie and one lead change, as the Hawks saw their only lead come while taking a 1-0 advantage. Mercer answered with the next three points to go up 3-1, using an overall 10-3 run to take a 10-4 advantage. UND was able to scrap, getting as close as two points when the Hawks trailed 21-19, but the Bears had enough to control set one, 25-21.

North Dakota came out determined in set two, getting ahead 5-2, headlined by two kills from Barber, a service ace from McCormick and two errors by Mercer. The Bears used a 9-5 run to go up 11-10, before UND answered with a 5-3 burst of their own to go up 15-13 at the media timeout.

The Green and White went on to take a 24-19 lead, but Mercer responded with five consecutive points to tie it at 24-24. Under some pressure, North Dakota scored two points to end the set off a Barber kill and a Mercer attack error to win the frame 26-24.

UND took a 2-0 lead in set three, before Mercer went on a 7-1 run to take a 7-3 advantage. From there, the Hawks were able to get within three points of the Bears (19-16), but couldn't get any closer, dropping set three, 25-17.

Set four had 12 ties and four lead changes as neither squad drew more than one point of separation through the first 21 points of the set, with Mercer holding an 11-10 lead. The Bears scored six consecutive points from there, commanding a 17-10 advantage.

The Hawks showed fight, answering with a 4-0 run of their own, off kills from Kimanni Rugley, Perugini and Matthea Dalton to make it 17-14. UND was able to tie the match at 19-19 and 21-21 but could not get ahead of the Bears. Mercer scored four of the final six points to win set four, 25-23.

UND will play their final non-conference match tomorrow against West Georgia at 9 a.m. from Hawkins Arena.

Postgame Notes

• UND falls to 0-1 all-time against Mercer and drops to 1-1 in the Mercer Invitational
• Barber had a team high 15 kills, giving her 49 kills over her last three matches
• McCormick had a team best 23 digs, giving her three consecutive matches with 20 or more digs and 90 total digs over her last four matches
• Perugini had 12 kills, giving her 26 kills over her last two contests
• UND lost the kills (53-51), assists (50-46) and digs (63-57) battle all in narrow defeat
• This was the first set UND played this season that went four sets

How It Happened
Set 1: Mercer 25-21
Set 2: UND 26-24
Set 3: Mercer 25-17
Set 4: Mercer 25-17

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