MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The North Dakota State volleyball team topped Robert Morris, 3-0, before coming up short against West Virginia, 3-0, on Thursday at WVU Coliseum.
In the first match of the day, NDSU (7-3) blanked Robert Morris (3-6), 3-0. NDSU took control of the opening set building up a 16-10 advantage following a kill from
Morgan Middleton. The Bison continued to surge from there stretching their advantage to 22-15 after a solo block from
Ally Barth. NDSU went on to take the opening set, 25-18, after notching a .500 hitting percentage in the frame.
NDSU carried the momentum over into the second set running out an 8-3 lead to force a Robert Morris timeout. The Bison then assembled five straight points capped off a by a kill from
Ali Hinze to expand their lead to 19-16. NDSU won the second set, 25-17.
NDSU, who never trailed in the match, started the third frame jumping out to a 12-8 lead after a kill from
Baily Randall. The Bison then went on a 6-2 run to increase their lead to 18-10 following a block assist from
Alex Lyle and
Arianna Blohm. NDSU closed out the set, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.
Hinze paced the Bison logging a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs to go along with a season-high four total blocks.
Kelley Johnson handed out a match-high 30 assists with six digs, while
Taylor Quan added in a match-best 13 digs.
In the second match of the day, NDSU fell short against West Virginia (5-6), 3-0. Both teams exchanged points in the first stanza that featured 16 ties and four lead changes. NDSU was able to open up a late 22-19 edge following back-to-back block assists from Johnson and Blohm. The Mountaineers then took advantage of attack errors to lock the contest, 23-23, and force a Bison timeout. West Virginia went on to close out the set on a 3-1 run to take the stanza, 26-24.
The Mountaineers carried the energy into the second frame running out to a 10-4 lead. West Virginia continued to roll from there stretching their lead into double digits, 21-11, after a kill from Hailey Green. The Mountaineers held off the Bison the rest of the way to win the set, 25-16.
NDSU fought back in the third set as both teams worked through 11 ties and two lead changes. West Virginia was able to steal a four point, 18-14, edge by the midway point after a kill from Green. The Bison answered with five straight points to steal the lead, 19-18, following a kill from
Alexis Boling. The two teams then exchanged points until the Mountaineers closed the contest with back-to-back points to win the set, 25-23, and the match, 3-0.
Boling paced the Bison with a team-high nine kills and .533 hitting percentage. Johnson added 27 assists with eight digs, while Hinze contributed six kills and six digs.
NDSU will wrap up play at the Mountaineer Invitational tomorrow against Old Dominion. First serve is set for 11:00 a.m. CT
