GREEN BAY, Wis.  – The North Dakota State volleyball team split the opening day at the Green Bay Invite on Friday.

In the first match, North Dakota State came up short against Northern Iowa, 3-1.  After both teams won a set early on to lock the match, 1-1, the Panthers bounced back with a .333 hitting percentage to take a 2-1 lead in the match following the third frame.

NDSU retaliated in the fourth set opening up a late 24-20 edge after Michelle Glover connected on a kill. However, UNI then stormed back with six straight points to steal the set, 26-24, and the match, 3-1.

As a team, NDSU posted a .262 hitting percentage in comparison to UNI's .218. The Bison connected on 42 kills with seven different players notching at least one.

Ali Hinze tallied 10 kills to go along with seven digs to pace NDSU. Syra Tanchin also hit double digits in kills with 10 and a .333 hitting percentage. Raegen Reilly handed out a team-best 20 assists to go along with six digs and one kill. Glover totaled a match-high eight blocks with nine kills, while Kaylee Hanger surpassed 800 career digs posting a team-high 11 to round out the top performers.
 
In the second match, North Dakota State bounced back to pick up a 3-2 win over Green Bay. The Bison were able to trim Green Bay's lead all the way down to one, 19-18, after Glover delivered a kill. The Phoenix then closed the frame on a 5-2 run to steal the opening set, 25-20. Neither team could pull away in the second frame that featured a match-high 10 lead changes and both teams found themselves deadlocked at 20. The Bison then closed the stanza on a 5-2 run after taking advantage of attack errors to lock the match, 1-1.

The third frame saw 12 tie scores and seven lead changes. After Green Bay stole a 25-24 edge, North Dakota State closed the match on 3-0 run featuring two clutch kills from Hinze to win the set, 27-25. Both teams continued into the fourth set as North Dakota State grabbed a late lead, 21-20, following three straight points. The Phoenix responded with a 3-2 run to steal the stanza, 25-22, and force a deciding fifth set.

The Bison wasted no time in the fifth frame racing out to a 6-0 lead to force a Green Bay timeout after Tanchin sent a kill past the defense. Both teams then settled in as the Phoenix quickly pulled back within two, 8-6, by the midway point. NDSU was able to hold off Green Bay the rest of the way to secure the set, 15-11, and the match, 3-2.

Tanchin paced the Bison with a career-high 21 kills to go along with a .486 hitting percentage. Hinze also reached double digits in kills with 15 and added in eight digs. Reilly passed out a match-high 51 assists, while Stark contributed a match-best 21 digs.

North Dakota State will wrap up play at the Green Bay Invite tomorrow against Ball State at 4:00 p.m.