ST. PAUL, Minn. – North Dakota volleyball suffered a three-set defeat in a tightly-contested Summit League match up against St. Thomas on Thursday night from inside Schoenecker Arena. The Hawks and the Tommies battled to 28-26 results in each of the first two sets, before the host moved past UND 25-15 in set three. The loss drops North Dakota’s overall record to 8-10 and its league mark to 1-6. UST moves to 12-8 overall and 4-3 in the Summit.
The two sides played to an 8-6 UST lead in set one, but the Hawks used back-to-back service aces from junior Izzie McCormick to grab a 10-8 lead. A pair of kills from both sophomore Lauren Perugini and freshman Vanessa Imoh aided in a 9-2 UND run to the set one media timeout as the Hawks held a 15-10 advantage.
A kill by Perugini broke an 18-18 tie and then again gave the Hawks a 22-20 lead. A termination by junior Paige Barber tied the opening frame at 23 and again at 24, but a UND service error at set point proved costly as UST tallied the final three points of the set.
Set two was played to a 10-10 tie and moments later the Hawks used a Perugini kill, a block by senior Jarolin de los Santos Lugo and the fourth ace of the match from McCormick to even the frame at 21. Perugini fended off set point for the Tommies with a kill, while back-to-back UST attack errors gave the Hawks a 24-23 lead. Perugini and Imoh continued the UND fight with terminations that led to a 26-25 Hawks lead, but the Tommies once again closed on a 3-0 run to take set two.
The Hawks found themselves in an early hole in set three as the visitors trailed 7-0 before a historic first point of the set was delivered by graduate setter Elizabeth Norris. The Michigan native put down an attack for the 500th termination of her career and in the process, she became the first player in the program’s Division I era to produce 1,700 assists, 700 digs, 500 kills and 50 service aces.
Kills by Perugini for the sixth and seventh UND points of the set kept the Hawks back by seven points and the visitors would cut the deficit to only six down the stretch.
The Hawks are open on Saturday and will prepare for three home matches next week beginning with North Dakota State on Tuesday. UND plays host to Omaha on Thursday in the program’s annual “Dig Pink” game and then faces St. Thomas in a quick turnaround on Saturday from inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The week’s action can be seen on the Summit League Network and live stats for each contest will be available at FightingHawks.com.
