MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The North Dakota volleyball team fell to Liberty (25-10, 25-20, 25-23) in three sets on Saturday morning in the final match from the West Virginia Invitational. UND moves to 0-5 and Liberty improves to 5-1.

The match overall saw 13 ties and seven lead changes, as for the fourth time this season Paige Barber had a game high in kills, totaling 11 this morning. Lauren Perugini (5), Kimanni Rugley (3), Autumn Jordan (2), Vanessa Washington (2) Matthea Dalton (1), and An den Hamer (1) each poured in at least one kill as well.

Skylar Darr had a season high 11 digs, good for her fourth career game with double-digit digs. Rugley logged a career high three total blocks in the match.

UND jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first set, and trailed just 10-8 through 18 total points, after a Barber kill off a pass from White. From that point, the Flames mounted a 15-2 run to take set one 25-10.

North Dakota showed fight in set two, as the frame featured eight ties and four lead changes. The Green and White jumped out to a 2-1 lead and stayed within two points and four ties, with the score even at 10-10. From that point, UND stayed within striking distance, never trailing by more than five, but eventually dropped the set 25-20.

Set three was highlighted by three ties and two lead changes, with North Dakota getting ahead 6-3 early on. Among those six points, two came off kills from Jordan, two off service aces from Darr and one off a kill from Perugini.

The Flames then went on a 10-0 run, to go up 13-6 and eventually held a 23-16 advantage deep into the frame. UND answered with a 5-0 run of their own, to cut the deficit to 23-21. Liberty scored the next point, before a Barber kill and Rugley service ace brought the Hawks within 24-23. Liberty ended the match on a kill that landed out of bounds, but it barely scraped the fingers of Washington, to give the Flames a 25-23 victory.

North Dakota will be back home Thursday, as they will open up a three-match homestand against UTSA at 6 p.m.

Postgame Notes

• UND falls to 0-1 all-time against Liberty
• Paige Barber ended the tournament with 37 kills, including a season best .320 attack percentage today
• Autumn Jordan totaled the first two kills of her collegiate career in set three
• Skylar Darr logged a season high 11 digs and now leads the team in service aces with eight on the season
• Izzie McCormick now sits ninth all-time in digs in UND Volleyball Division l history
• Sadie White had 24 assists, giving her 20 or more assists in four-of-five matches this season and an overall total of 126 assists through five matches
• Kimanni Rugley manufactured a career high three total blocks

How It Happened
Set 1: Liberty 25-10
Set 2: Liberty 25-20
Set 3: Liberty 25-23

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