MOSCOW, Idaho – The North Dakota State volleyball team wrapped up play at the Vandal Volleyball Invitational after downing Seattle, 3-1, and Idaho, 3-1, at Memorial Gym on Saturday afternoon.
The Bison (3-0) won the final three straight sets to top Seattle (1-1), 3-1, in the first match of the day. NDSU piled up a season-high 84 digs with five different players reaching double figures, including a team-best 18 digs from
Logan O'Brien.
Ally Barth paced the Bison on the offensive end connecting on 13 kills with a .650 hitting percentage, while
Ali Hinze notched a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs.
Kelley Johnson rounded out the top performers contributing her second straight double-double with a match-best 41 assists and 17 digs.
After stealing the first set, 25-21, the Redhawks continued to surge into the second frame building a 9-4 advantage. NDSU then constructed a 10-1 run to capture the lead, 14-10, following a kill from Barth. Both teams continued to trade points until Seattle fought its way back to lock the contest, 24-24, after an attack error. However, the Bison sealed the frame, 26-24, following a kill from Hinze and service ace from
Taylor Quan.
NDSU continued to ride the energy into the third frame opening up a 15-7 advantage after a block from Barth and
Alexis Boling. The Bison increased their lead up to 10, 19-9, following a solo block from Boling. NDSU went on to close out the set, 25-17.
The Bison began to the match away assembling a 11-1 run to build a 20-6 edge after a kill from
Baily Randall. NDSU then put together a 4-2 run capped off by an ace from O'Brien to make the score 24-9. The Bison won the frame, 25-10, and the match, 3-1.
In the second match, NDSU topped Idaho (0-2), 3-1. Johnson led the way for NDSU with a match-best 49 assists to go along with 11 digs. Boling connected on a match-high 13 kills, while Hinze added a double-double with 15 digs and 12 kills.
The Bison sprinted out to a 12-6 lead following a block from Boling and Barth in the opening set. NDSU then took advantage of a bad set to increase its lead to 20-10. The Bison, who posted a .455 hitting percentage in the set, went on to take the opening stanza, 25-15.
Both teams exchanged points throughout the second set until the Vandals put together five straight points to build a 21-16 lead. NDSU responded with back-to-back kills from Boling and Hinze to pull within three, 21-18, and force an Vandal timeout. However, Idaho was able to hold off NDSU the rest of the way to win the set, 25-22.
The Bison responded in the third taking advantage of attack errors to open up a 9-6 edge. NDSU continued to surge with a 6-1 run to increase its lead to 15-10 following a kill from Barth. The Bison went on to close out the set, 25-18.
NDSU used an early 7-0 run in the fourth set to build a 15-5 edge following a kill from Boling. The Bison then began to put the match away with another 4-0 run capped off by a kill from Randall. NDSU went on to finish out the frame, 25-15, and the match, 3-1.
NDSU will be back in action on Friday against Butler at the Dayton Tournament in Dayton, Ohio. First serve is set for 10:00 a.m.
