The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 2 – North Dakota State 3
Records: ORU (2-5, 2-3 SL) – NDSU (5-2, 3-2 SL)
Location: Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse (Fargo, N.D.)
Box Score
 
FARGO, N.D. – The Oral Roberts volleyball team fought back to force a decisive fifth set before falling at North Dakota State (15-25, 25-18, 24-26, 33-31, 8-15) Sunday afternoon.
 
The Golden Eagles fell behind in the opening set, 5-1, before a Sakira LaCour kill stopped the NDSU momentum. The Bison were able to push out to a 10-3 edge until Victoria Mayes found the floor on a swing followed by a NDSU error as ORU closed the margin five. The visitors were unable to get any closer in the frame falling, 25-15.
 
ORU took the early lead in set two as Kaia Dunford dropped in a kill only to see the home team jump to a 6-5 advantage. The next six points belonged to the Golden Eagles claiming an 11-6 edge thanks to a pair of service aces by Aixa Vigil and three-straight NDSU errors, including a block by Jaxie Wakley and Dunford. ORU was able to withstand a Bison run that cut the gap to three, 17-14, and came out of a timeout pushing the lead to 21-16 before securing the set, 25-18.
 
A LaCour kill and Dunford ace helped the Golden Eagles to a 3-2 lead in the third stanza and LaCour served up three-consecutive aces during a 5-0 burst for an 8-4 cushion. ORU continued to press as its offense caught fire and scored six of the next eight points building a 14-7 lead. NDSU fought back to tighten the set and eventually evened the score, 20-20, and ended up rallying to win, 26-24.
 
The fourth set turned into a marathon featuring 16 tie scores and eight lead changes. Neither team was able to generate more than a two-point lead until Wakley buried a kill putting ORU in front, 17-14. The lead was erased as NDSU used a 7-1 run for a three-point lead of its own. The Golden Eagles had to fight off six match points before finally claiming the set, 33-31, scoring the final three points on kills from LaCour, Dunford and Vigil.
 
Two kills from Dunford came after a Mayes swing and ORU raced out to a 3-1 advantage in the final frame, but the Bison responded with the next five points. The Golden Eagles could not recover despite pulling within one, 9-8, as NDSU posted the final six points to secure the five-set victory, 15-8.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Vigil put together another impressive performance as the junior posted a 17-kill, 21-dig double-double, while hitting at a .372 clip. It was her fourth double-double in five matches this year.
• Libero Sarah Thiessen tallied 20 or more digs for the fourth time this season finishing with a match-high 22 as the redshirt junior is averaging 5.0 digs per set.
• Setter Bryanne Soares took a bulk of the play and recorded a season-high 43 set assists with 11 digs for her second double-double.
• Dunford reached double-figure kills with 13, while adding eight digs and a team-high four service aces.
• Mayes totaled a career high putting away nine kills on 24 swings.
• The Golden Eagles controlled the net out-blocking the Bison by a 12-7 margin led by seven blocks by LaCour, including three solo blocks, registering a career best in both categories. Wakley added five and Dunford had three blocks.

 
Up Next
ORU finishes the season series with the Bison Monday afternoon scheduled for first serve at 1 p.m.
 
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.