(Photo Credit: Russ Hons-FightingHawks.com)

Coming into their second to last home game, UND needed to find some consistency. They were unable to do so in the first set as a 1-23 Western Illinois side was able to come in and take the first set 25-21. They did so with with 15 kills and capitalizing on six attack and two service errors.That said, the rest of the match played out quite a bit differently as UND went on to win this key conference match in four sets (21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-23).

After the 25-21 first set loss, UND needed to adjust. The Fighting Hawks were able to dramatically improve their team hitting in the second set to even things up in the second as they flipped the score to a 25-21 set two win. Through two sets, the teams evened things out a bit as they both finished set two with ten attack errors apiece. Throughout the first few sets both teams had stars emerge. Shia Sanders for the Leathernecks paced them with 15 kills on the evening , and Lexi Ahrens paced UND. Both of them were the most efficient players for their teams with multiple kills, and both were able to limit their errors. On the night Ahrens finished with 13 kills on 21 swings including a mere two attack errors for the Fighting Hawks.

Set three looked identical from a hitting perspective for UND. The Fighting Hawks were able to rack up 16 kills on 33 swings again combined with only four attack errors to take the third set 25-17. Finally, in the fourth set the Leathernecks fought back but UND was able to hang on despite 11 attack errors and wrap up the match with a 25-23 fourth set win. In addition to Ahrens, credit Taliyah Flores tonight. The normal back-row player for UND played a more offensive role tonight and played a superb game. She finished with 11 kills on 25 swings with a mere three attack errors and 7 digs. She was able to fill gaps in UND’s lineup created by injury and, along with Ahrens showed how much their games have developed in their first season for UND.

On senior night, where UND’s three seniors were honored, two freshman stole the show. The Fighting Hawks will look to make large steps to a Summit League Tournament appearance this Saturday in their home finale against Purdue Fort Wayne. If this team can play a consistent match and lower their errors a bit, they can as they have in the past, compete with anyone in this conference. Saturday morning will go a long way to determining UND’s postseason fate.