Kaytlyn Dill (Bothell, Wash.) notched a season-high 19 kills along with three service aces and 10 digs, while Cristin Richards (Olympia, Wash.) finished with 14 kills, three service aces, 14 digs, and three total blocks. Setter Jamie Mellies (Henderson, Nev.) collected 39 assists, two service aces, 17 digs, and four total blocks, and Megan Augustavo (Shoreline, Wash.) posted a career-high 22 defensive digs and also contributed nine assists.
In the fifth set, a kill by Richards and a block from Mellies and Raissa Licano-Sanchez (Grandview, Wash.) allowed SeattleU to go up by three points halfway through the set. Thanks in part to three kills from Britta Hanson, North Dakota scored six unanswered points to take its own three-point lead, and Hanson later closed out the set and the match with a kill.
Coming back from the intermission break, Seattle University took the lead for good midway through the third set when Dill notched a kill and Jordan Keller (Mukilteo, Wash.) and Janet Beckerman (Bellevue, Wash.) teamed up on a block. After SeattleU extended its lead to five points, North Dakota came within one at 21-20, but Dill carried the Redhawks into the next set with four kills in the next five points.
The momentum continued for SeattleU into the fourth set, as two more kills by Dill as well as two attack errors for North Dakota led to the home team taking an 8-3 lead. After calling timeout, North Dakota scored five straight points to pull into a tie, one of 12 ties in the fourth set. A kill by Hanson allowed North Dakota to serve for the match, but a service error followed by a block by Keller switched the advantage back to SeattleU's side. Dill finished off the fourth set with a kill and a service ace to force the deciding fifth set.
Five straight points by Seattle University gave the Redhawks an 8-4 lead in the first set, but North Dakota went on a 7-1 run to take a 12-10 lead and force SeattleU into taking a timeout. The Redhawks regained the lead, going up by as much as 20-16 after back-to-back blocks, but North Dakota called timeout and rattled off six unanswered points to go up 22-20. Megan Langseth clinched the set for North Dakota with two kills in the final three points.
A 5-1 run by North Dakota early in the second set gave the visiting team an 11-7 advantage, but SeattleU fought back, eventually going ahead 21-20 on a block by Richards and Kelly Biette (Brighton, Colo.). A kill by Licano-Sanchez tied the set at 24-24, but a kill from Amanda Polzin and a SeattleU attack error allowed North Dakota to go into the intermission period up two sets to zero.
Beckerman finished the night with nine kills and five total blocks, Licano-Sanchez contributed five kills and six total blocks, and Keller came off the bench to add two solo blocks and three block assists to the effort. Seattle University finished with more digs than North Dakota, 71 to 66, as well as more team blocks, 15.5 to 14.0.
North Dakota (8-5) was led by Devin Trefz's 17 kills, while Hanson finished with 16 kills, a .519 hitting percentage, and a match-high seven total blocks. Langseth ran a varied offense, finishing with 49 assists as well as nine digs and five block assists. Annika Smed and Polzin each collected eight kills and six total blocks, with Smed also picking up two aces and 13 digs. In the back, Courtney Halvorson led the way with 16 digs, while libero Lindsay Vortherms notched 15 digs as well as three service aces.
Seattle University (3-12) heads to the Dakotas this weekend, first taking on South Dakota Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. local time. The Redhawks will then head to Grand Forks, N.D., for the rematch with North Dakota Saturday, Sept. 26, also at 7 p.m. local time. The next home match for SeattleU is Thursday, Oct. 1, against Trinity Western starting at 7 p.m. at the Connolly Center.