UND sophomore Chelsea Moser spikes the ball against a Northern Colorado opponent Saturday afternoon at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Photo by Jennifer Friese/The Dakota Student.

The crowd got its money worth Saturday afternoon, with a few nerve-wracking moments along the way.

In a game that saw the score tied 33 times with 11 scoring lead changes, the UND women’s volleyball team beat Northern Colorado in four sets last Saturday at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

With the win, UND also moved into sole possession of second place in the Big Sky Conference.

The game was an offensive battle throughout. In the first set, UND established the mood early by scoring 10 uncontested points to win the first set, 25-16.

In the second set, the defenses started to settle in, and UND fought back from being down 22-20 to win 25-23

After another back and forth match in the third, which saw Northern Colorado come away with a win, UND stormed back with a convincing win in the fourth set, 26-24.

Early in the set, Colorado jumped out to an early lead. UND did not lead in the fourth until a bit later, finally scoring to pull ahead 14-13 and essentially never looking back.

“They were a good team — well balanced,” UND coach Mark Pryor said. “We played well defensively. We were able to set the block consistently, knew where their hitters were going. It’s always a little easier the second time around because you pick up tendencies. We planned a little better for them I think that when we get 104 digs in four sets, we’re doing something right, and I was proud of that.”

Leading the defensive charge for UND was McKenzie Hart with 30 digs. Faith Dooley was not far behind, finishing the game with 21 digs.

Dooley’s offensive attack was also on focus, leading the team with 16 kills. She was one of three UND players to go double digits in kills, Lexi Robinson had 13 and Anna Pioske had 12.

It was UND’s first time beating Northern Colorado at home.

“Our overall record against Northern Colorado was less than stellar,” Pryor said. “I think Its 3-32 and that’s not good odds,” Pryor said. “Now it’s 4 and 32 and we will take that.”

While first place in the Big Sky is all but statistically impossible, it’s still going to take a strong week of practice and game-play to secure the second place spot the team has worked so hard for.

UND will host Montana State on Thursday and Montana on Saturday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

For UND seniors, the thoughts of their time ending at UND are in the backs of their minds as the season winds down an end.

Kyle Beauchamp is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].