COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--Middle hitter Christy Stuewe had 15 kills and six blocks to lead North Dakota State to a 3-2 victory at Air Force in college women's volleyball Friday, Nov. 4.

North Dakota State won the first two games 30-27 and 30-25 before slipping in the third and fourth games with 30-22 and 30-27 losses.  NDSU held off Air Force 15-11 in the deciding set for the win.

"We lost our focus on serving and passing," Bison head coach Zaundra Bina said.  "Air Force made some nice adjustments and went with a faster offense."

NDSU (2-28) had a hard time stopping Air Force middle blocker Kristin Hamlett, who tied season highs with 27 kills and seven blocks, including three solo blocks.

North Dakota State had two threats in the middle.  Lindsay Shockman-Rogers added 14 kills, four blocks and two aces.

"Both Christy and Lindsay were able to score on a lot of one-tempo (attacks) and that opened up our offense," Bina said. 

Setters Sheila Parrish and Bethany Boelter finished with 32 and 26 assists, respectively.

"The key to the match was Bethany's choices," Bina said.  "Bethany had one of her best matches."

And so did North Dakota State.  The Bison outhit Air Force .286 to .250, connecting for kills at a rate second only to the .317 in NDSU's only other win of the season against Centenary.

Stuewe hit .550 in the match with 15 kills and four errors in 20 attacks, and Rogers hit .520 with 14 kills and one error in 25 swings.

Parrish missed a triple-double by one kill, finishing the match with 32 assists, a match-high 10 digs, and nine kills.  Instead, it was her 28th career double-double.

North Dakota State senior outside hitter Kim Hebl recorded 11 kills and three service aces.

Hebl moved into 12th place on the NDSU career kills chart Thursday at Utah Valley State.  She now has 1,400 career kills, one shy of tying Bison Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Amy Quist for 11th all-time.

"I am really impressed with what Kim has been doing," Bina said.

North Dakota State is scheduled to conclude a three-match western swing at Northern Colorado on Saturday, Nov. 5.  It will take another strong showing to beat UNC.

"Tonight was a great all-around effort," Bina said.  "When you're on somebody else's court, you're 1-28, and you can win in five ... that shows a lot of guts."

Air Force dropped to 4-24 overall.  The Falcons play in the Mountain West Conference and are 0-12 in league play.