ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of North Dakota (1-15, 0-4 Summit) and St. Thomas (2-11, 1-2 Summit) battled in a five-set thriller as the Fighting Hawks won the second and fourth sets to extend the match but the Tommies prevailed on the night, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23, 19-25, 15-7.
Three Hawks closed the night with 10-or-more kills, led by Lexi Ahrens who led UND with 15 kills and a .333 hitting percentage while finishing the night with 19 points with three service aces. Taylor Pribyl added 13 kills while Ashlyn Olson recorded 11 kills. Madi Hart, who also served three aces, finished with 25 digs.
In a heavy handing opening set, where both teams hit over .360, the Tommies tallied 20 kills and hit .441 in the frame to take the early 1-0 lead, 25-22. North Dakota, who registered 11 kills on 25 attempts, was solid on its attack and service, committing only one error on the attack. Service proved to be the difference as UST recorded three.
The Fighting Hawks got physical in the second frame, blocking five Tommie attacks, while recording 15 kills and hitting .225. Trailing 24-21, Ahrens put service back in North Dakota’s hands with her sixth kill of the set, and followed up with back-to-back service aces to force set point. UND and UST battled for the final point with a long rally but it was Maddy Hornyak who tied the match 1-1 with a kill, 26-24.
The rallies continued the third set as both teams fought tooth and nail for each point, but the Tommies forced the Hawks into nine errors in the set to take a 2-1 lead, 25-23. Despite the errors by North Dakota, UND hit .204 in the third frame while Ahrens recorded six kills in the set alone.
The Fighting Hawks countered with a strong fourth set, leading the frame with three-consecutive Hart service aces, allowing them to take advantage of the Tommies 12 errors, 25-19. By the end of the set, three Hawks, Ahrens, Olson and Pribyl had already recorded 10+ kills.
In the final frame, the Tommies worked quickly to take a 4-0 lead and forced the Hawks to call a timeout. Though North Dakota counted with four of the next points, St. Thomas jumped to a 10-4 lead and continued its momentum swing to win its first-ever Summit League match.
North Dakota will close its road trip on Saturday morning when it takes on Western Illinois. The match will begin at 11 a.m.
*Courtesy Matt Scheerer, UND Athletics
