FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State
Bison proved to be too much for the Golden Eagles volleyball team
as NDSU (19-7, 11-4 Summit League) defeated ORU three games to
none. The Golden Eagles fall to 16-13 on the season and 11-4 in
Summit League action.
The Golden Eagles were led by junior Jackie
Oliveira with her 20th double-double of the season,
posting 17 kills and 19 digs, while junior JoJo Souza finished the
night with 12 kills. Junior Janete Ferreira was held to only seven
kills with a .032 hitting, which hurt the Golden Eagles.
ORU's back row worked hard with four players
in double-digit kills. Other than Oliveira, junior Carol Garbato
dished out 16 digs, while junior Thais Parada had 15 and Ferreira
had 14.
The Golden Eagles would hold a 10-6 advantage
in game one until the Bison would go on a 7-3 run to tie the game
at 13-all. NDSU would go on another 4-1 run to take the lead, which
they would hold the remainder of the game to win 30-23.
The Bison would jump out to an early 7-3 lead
in game two, but ORU would fight their way back to come within one
at the 11-10 mark. They would eventually tie the game at 18-18 with
a Ferreira/Souza block, but NDSU would regain the lead after a
Nicole Weis service error and would take game two,
30-25.
ORU would not go down without a fight,
zooming to an 8-2 lead, but North Dakota State would chip at that
lead and eventually come to within one at the 13-12 mark. The
Golden Eagles would hold their lead with the help of Oliviera,
Ferreira and Parada kills as well as a nice Jocelyn Swier/Oliveira
block to give ORU a four-point lead. But with four-straight kills
by NDSU, three by Kristen Hille, ORU would be forced to take a
timeout. Both teams would battle back-and-forth, with ORU holding
the advantage, until three-straight Bison kills would tie the game
at 29-28 to give NDSU the lead. They would hold on to that momentum
the rest of the game to win 32-30.
The Golden Eagles will travel south tonight
for a 7 p.m. match-up with South Dakota State on Saturday evening.
The Jackrabbits defeated Centenary Friday night to take control of
first place in the conference standings.
-ORU-
