FARGO, N.D. – The ORU volleyball program picked up their first Summit League win of the season against the North Dakota State Bison in five sets (21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 13-25, 15-11). The Bison had won six of their last seven matches before tonight, as the Golden Eagles handed them their sixth loss of the season and first loss in League play.
 
ORU opened set one in a seven point hole and they fought from behind until the score was 9-16, sparking a 9-3 scoring run to cut the Bison lead to just two (16-18). Despite two kills from Trinity Freeman in the last four points, NDSU edged out ORU in set one, 25-21.
 
Kedron Burk unleashed the Golden Eagles' scoring capabilities in set two, racking up two kills for the first two ORU points. Offensively, Natassia Baptiste and Trinity Freeman also logged two kills apiece. ORU and NDSU were neck-and-neck throughout the set, going on 7-1 and 6-2 runs, respectively. Ten of the Golden Eagles' 25 points came from Bison errors in set two, propelling them to a set two victory.
 
In set three, the Golden Eagles held off a late push from the Bison to earn a 2-1 lead on the match. Trinity Freeman led the ORU offense in the set, carding a dominant four kills while Anzley Rinard and Kedron Burk weren't far behind racking up three and two. Rachel Resta also racked up two service aces in the third set. The Golden Eagles weren't safe, even with a 21-13 advantage as NDSU went on a 9-2 tear to give the Bison a chance. Two Anzley Rinard kills sealed the set for the Golden Eagles as they won set three, 25-23.
 
The Bison didn't let the Golden Eagles off that easy as they dominated set four. Eight errors from ORU and fourteen kills from NDSU didn't mix as the Bison claimed the fourth set, 25-13.
 
ORU and NDSU went back and forth in a neck-and-neck fifth set. The Golden Eagles gave themselves a two point advantage early and continued to match the Bison. ORU had a one point lead (10-9) heading into crunch time and three errors from NDSU sealed the deal for the Golden Eagles as they picked up their third win on the season.  
 
 
Match Notes

• The Golden Eagles picked up their first win against the Bison since 2021.
• Freshman, Anzley Rinard was one kill shy of carding her third straight double-double logging nine kills, 15 digs (led the team), one service ace and two block assists.
• Trinity Freeman led the team in kills with 13, hitting .231% on the match. Freeman also hit 60 matches with 10+ kills as a Golden Eagle!
• Kedron Burk had an incredible offensive night, matching her season-high in kills (7) while hitting a match-high .417%.
• At the net, the Golden Eagles recorded two season-highs, logging five solo blocks and 12 total blocks. Rinard, Burk, Resta, Freeman and Baptiste all carded solo blocks while Burk recorded a match-high 3.5 total kills.
• Rachel Resta racked up three service aces on the match (Tied match-high).
• ORU is four wins away from 1,000 wins as a program.

 
Up Next
ORU heads back to the Mabee Center for a two game showdown against St. Thomas on October 10^th at 7:00 p.m. and Kansas City on October 12^th at 1:00 p.m.
 
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