(NDSU Athletics)
OMAHA, NE – The North Dakota State volleyball team came up short against Omaha, 3-1, in the Summit League Championship semifinals on Friday night at Baxter Arena.
Ali Hinze paced NDSU (21-11, 13-5 Summit) with a match-high 14 kills to go along with nine digs. Michelle Artis totaled 13 kills with seven total blocks, while Logan O’Brien notched a match-high 18 digs. Kelley Johnson rounded out the top performers with a match-best 41 assists and 13 digs.
NDSU, who advanced to the Summit League Championship semifinal round for the first time since 2018, brought the energy to the first set running out to a 6-1 lead after a block from Artis and Hinze. The Bison then increased their lead up to 12-5 after Hinze connected on her third kill of the frame. Five different Bison notched a kill in the set as NDSU won the opening frame, 25-16.
Omaha (20-9, 14-4 Summit) responded in the second set building an 11-6 edge to force an NDSU timeout. The Bison battled back trimming the deficit down to five, 17-12, after a kill from Hinze. However, Omaha held off NDSU the rest of the way to win the set, 25-19.
Omaha carried the momentum into the third frame building a 13-7 lead to force an NDSU timeout. The Mavericks then pushed the edge to 17-9 after three straight points. Omaha went on to win the set, 25-18.
NDSU fought back in the fourth frame that saw a match-high 12 tie scores and six lead changes. After Omaha stole a 21-18 lead, NDSU then assembled a 4-1 run to lock the frame, 22-22. The Bison continued to surge with back-to-back points after a kill from Hinze and an attack error to grab a late, 25-24 edge. However, the Mavericks closed the frame with three unanswered points to win the set, 27-25, and the match, 3-1.
