BEAUMONT, Texas – The University of North Dakota volleyball team fell to Sam Houston in four sets Friday afternoon at the Lamar Invitational. With the loss, the Fighting Hawks split day one of the tournament and move to 5-5 on the season.
Ten Fighting Hawks recorded kills against the Bearkats, led by
Elena Stefanov with a career-high eight.
Ela Vlaisavljevic and
Reagan McIntosh paced the UND offense with 18 and 12 assists, respectively.
Defensively,
Haley Patton recorded nine digs, while
Sally Marong added a career-high eight.
Lilliana Montes led the Fighting Hawks at the net with five blocks.
Sam Houston jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the opening set, but North Dakota responded with a 9-1 run to take a 15-13 advantage. The run included six straight points for the Hawks, with four Sam Houston attack errors helping fuel the comeback.
Lauren Perugini added two kills and an ace during the run. The Bearkats answered late and claimed the opening set, 25-19, to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set featured another back-and-forth battle, with the two teams trading points throughout the early stages. UND held a 15-13 lead before Sam Houston answered with two straight points to tie the set at 15-15. The Bearkats eventually took a 17-15 advantage and continued to build momentum, closing the set on a lengthy run to claim a 25-18 victory and take a 2-0 lead.
Facing a must-win third set, the Fighting Hawks battled Sam Houston to a 7-7 tie early. The Bearkats eventually built a 24-19 advantage to reach match point, but North Dakota refused to go quietly. A kill from
Andrea Zaric sparked the comeback before a kill from Stefanov and a Sam Houston attack error cut the deficit to 24-22 and forced a Bearkats timeout.
The timeout did little to slow the Fighting Hawks, who scored the next four points to complete a 6-0 run. Vlaisavljevic recorded back-to-back service aces before
Olivia Edlund capped the comeback with a kill, giving UND a 26-24 set victory and cutting the match deficit to 2-1.
The fourth set featured several short runs as the two teams traded three-point stretches throughout the frame. North Dakota held an 18-15 advantage before Sam Houston began to pull away late. The Bearkats used another lengthy run to close the set, 25-19, and secure the 3-1 match victory.
North Dakota will close the Lamar Invitational Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe. First serve is scheduled for 10 a.m.
POSTMATCH NOTES
- With the victory, Sam Houston evened the all-time series with North Dakota at 1-1.
- Vlaisavljevic recorded a career-high 18 assists and two service aces, marking the first two aces of her career.
- Ten Fighting Hawks recorded at least one kill against Sam Houston, including six each from Perugini and Montes.
- The match featured 32 ties and 15 lead changes across the four sets.
- With 12 assists in the match, McIntosh now needs 30 assists to reach 500 for her career.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: Sam Houston 25, North Dakota 19
Set 2: Sam Houston 25, North Dakota 18
Set 3: North Dakota 26, Sam Houston 24
Set 4: Sam Houston 25, North Dakota 19
For more information on North Dakota Volleyball, visit Fightinghawks.com or follow-on social media @UNDvolleyball.
--UND--
