The Basics
Score: North Dakota 3 – Oral Roberts 2
Records: UND (1-2, 1-0 SL) – ORU (0-3, 0-1 SL)
Location: Cooper Aerobics Center (Tulsa, Okla.)
Box Score
 
TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts volleyball team played an epic battle Sunday night in its Summit League opener falling to North Dakota in five sets (32-30, 8-25, 25-15, 25-27, 10-15) at the Cooper Aerobics Center.
 
A wild and entertaining first set captivated the crowd in the Golden Eagles' first home match as it featured 17 tie scores and five lead changes. ORU used a 7-2 run to erase a four-point deficit to lead 15-14 and eventually took a 24-21 lead on a Jeslyn Spencer kill. An unsuccessful challenge with the new replay system changed momentum for UND as the visitors came back to even the frame before ORU put the set away on its seventh set point, all while fighting off three set points by the Fighting Hawks.
 
The second set was one to forget as the Golden Eagles fell behind 11-4 forcing them into a timeout. UND continued its strong serving effort and pushed the margin to 19-4 on a 14-1 run until Jaxie Wakley ended the stretch on a kill. The Fighting Hawks closed out the frame 25-8 to even the match.
 
Energy returned to the ORU bench thanks to the capacity crowd as the home side took control of the match by dominating the set with a .389 hitting percentage. Back-to-back kills from Sylvia Lawson capped an 8-2 burst for a 9-5 advantage. The Golden Eagles claimed the frame by scoring 11 of the final 15 points for a 25-15 win behind five kills from Kaia Dunford during the final push.
 
After UND build an 11-6 edge, ORU fought back and scored the next six points to jump in front after a service ace by Sarah Thiessen. The Golden Eagles led the fourth set by as many as three, 18-15, but it was the Fighting Hawks that used a 9-3 run to push the set to the brink and closed the stanza, 27-25, to even the match.
 
The visitors raced out to a 4-1 edge in the fifth and final set and pushed the margin to 9-4 after ORU's 12 service error of the night. The Golden Eagles would not go away quietly and a big swing by Aixa Vigil closed the gap to 11-10, but it was UND that scored the final four points to close the set, 15-10, and hand ORU a loss to begin Summit League play.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Dunford led ORU tallying 16 kills on 34 swings for a .353 hitting percentage matching her season high from opening night. The freshman had seven kills on 11 swings in the third set alone.
• Vigil made her Golden Eagles debut Sunday and recorded a 13-kill, 17-dig double-double to go with a block assist and five set assists.
• Wakley joined the group with double-digit kills posting 11 and had a team-leading two block assists.
• Thiessen led all players with a match-best 29 digs, 15 of which were in the fourth set.
• Chloe Salcedo gave the Golden Eagles 16 digs, more than double her previous best this year, and led the team serving three aces. Spencer chipped in 12 digs reaching double figures for the first time in her career and finished with seven kills.
• Lawson registered 25 set assists and eight kills from the setter spot, while Bryanne Soares added 23 set assists.

Up Next
ORU and the Fighting Hawks play the final match of the series Monday night at 7 p.m. with free, live video on the ORU Sports Network.
 
For the latest information on ORU Volleyball, follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics app from the App Store or Google Play Store.