North Dakota State
17-6, 9-3Summit
IUPUI
10-16, 3-9Summit
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IUPUI | 25 | 19 | 18 | 0 |
| North Dakota State | 30 | 30 | 30 | 3 |
Bison Move Into Five-Way Tie for First Place With Sweep of IUPUI
10/28/2007 2:45:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
FARGO, N.D.--The North Dakota State women's volleyball team moved into a five-way tie for first place in The Summit League with a 30-25, 30-19, 30-18 victory over IUPUI on Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
North Dakota State improved to 17-6 overall and 9-3 in The Summit League. IUPUI slipped to 10-16 overall and 3-9 in the league.
Western Illinois won 3-2 at defending conference champion Oral Roberts, and South Dakota State swept Oakland to force a first-place tie between NDSU, SDSU, IPFW, Western Illinois and Oral Roberts. The top four qualify for the conference tournament.
Middle hitter Christy Stuewe had 16 kills and three blocks to lead North Dakota State on Saturday night, while teammate Brooke VandenBergh added 13 kills.
NDSU hit .247 as a team, including freshmen Nicole Sheridan (seven kills) and Lauren McLaughlin (five kills), who each hit over .360 with only one error in 30 combined attacks.
Four Bison players had double-digit dig totals to hold IUPUI to a .149 team hitting percentage. NDSU libero Kari Fagnan made 22 digs, setter Mattie Johnson had 16 digs to go with 45 assists, and outside hitters Kristen Hille and Kelly Lopez had 12 and 11 digs, respectively.
Stuewe was an early spark for NDSU. After two straight IUPUI kills to start the match, Stuewe connected for four straight kills to give the Bison a 4-2 lead. The Jaguars tied the game at 4, and the Bison did not regain the lead again until a Sheridan and Stuewe block made it 14-13 NDSU.
VandenBergh's fourth kill of the night gave the Bison their biggest lead at 20-17. Hillary Houston strung together three straight kills to pull the Jaguars within 21-20 before NDSU scored four straight points to pull away.
Houston had nine of her team-high 16 kills in the first game for IUPUI. She completed the double-double with 15 digs. IUPUI libero Chelsea Bastin made 28 digs.
North Dakota State led by as many as 14 points in Game 2 when a Lopez kill made it 26-12. IUPUI's Carol Newell had three straight kills on game point before a VandenBergh kill sent the match to intermission.
NDSU scored five straight points to break an 8-8 tie in the third game and go on to victory.
North Dakota State has four Summit League matches remaining in the regular season. The Bison are at Western Illinois on Friday, Nov. 2, and at UMKC on Saturday, Nov. 3.
