GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota State volleyball team fought its way back from a 2-0 deficit before falling short, 3-2, at North Dakota on Tuesday night at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

NDSU finishes regular season play with a 17-10 (9-7 Summit) overall record and secured a spot in the Summit League Tournament. The full bracket will be announced at the conclusion of regular season conference play tomorrow night.

Arianna Blohm paced the Bison with a career-high 14 kills to go along with a .500 hitting percentage. Ali Hinze, who reached double digits in kills in 24-of-27 matches this season, added in 13 kills with nine digs. Kelley Johnson handed out a match-high 47 assists and Taylor Quan added a team-best 16 digs.

After both teams traded points in the opening set, North Dakota (7-21, 4-12 Summit) was able to string together three straight points to steal a 13-9 lead to force an NDSU timeout. The Bison attempted to get a comeback going after Hinze connected on five straight kills to cut the deficit to 19-15. North Dakota then went on to hold off NDSU the rest of the way, 25-17.

The two teams exchanged points into the second frame as the Fighting Hawks built a 15-12 edge by the media timeout. The Bison responded putting together three straight points to pull within one, 16-15, following an attack error. North Dakota answered close the set on a 9-1 run to win the frame, 25-16.

NDSU fought back in the third frame assembling a 6-1 run to open up a 15-10 lead following a service ace from Morgan Middleton. The Bison then stretched their lead to 20-15 after a block from Ally Barth and Baily Randall. The Bison, who notched a .281 hitting percentage in the set, closed out the frame, 25-18.

NDSU carried the momentum into the fourth frame sprinting out to a 9-5 lead after a kill from Barth. The Bison increased their lead to 22-17 after Randall delivered a kill to force a North Dakota timeout. NDSU closed out the frame, 25-18, after notching a .344 hitting percentage in the set.

The Fighting Hawks pushed back in the fifth frame building a 6-2 lead to force a Bison timeout. NDSU made one final surge with three straight points to cut the deficit to 13-7 after a kill from Middleton. However, North Dakota went on to grab the final two points to win the set, 15-7, and the match, 3-2.