GRAND FORKS, N.D. — South Dakota fell in its Summit League opener Thursday night at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center 3-1 (23-25, 20-25, 25-15, 24-26) to North Dakota.
 
The hitting percentages for the match were relatively even with the Coyotes swinging at a .208 clip compared to UND's .211. The Fighting Hawks, however, outhit the Yotes in the three sets they won .263 to .167. South Dakota hit .367 in its third set win, while holding UND to a .029 clip.
 
Lauren Medeck paced the Yotes with 14 kills, while Ava Ball had 10 and Audrey Nelson had nine on a .316 attack percentage. The Fighting Hawks relied heavily on the arm of Paige Barber, who was the only Fighting Hawk with double-digit kills. She put down a match high 23 kills on 48 swings (.333%) and had nine digs.
 
Kamryn Farris tallied 22 digs for the second straight match and became the sixth Coyote in program history to eclipse 1,500 career digs.  
 
North Dakota hit .324 in the opening set, and while the Yotes hit .171 in the first set, they had a chance late to take the set. The opener saw nine ties and six lead changes, the most in any set on the night. After a four-point run put the Fighting Hawks on set point, 24-19, the Coyotes answered with four straight of their own to pull within one, 24-23. However, a South Dakota error would close out the set win for UND.
 
Behind four early kills from Medeck, the Yotes jumped out to a 7-4 lead in set two. A 7-1 run flipped the lead back in favor of UND, but South Dakota would tie the score at 13 following three straight points. Needing another late surge, the Yotes put together a 4-1 run starting with back-to-back kills from Amanda Loschen to pull within two, 22-20, but would drop the set 25-20 after three straight UND points.
 
The Coyotes found their groove in the third set behind an attack that saw four players tally three kills each and a .367 hitting percentage. UND held the lead briefly at the start, but the lead would flip hands for the only time in the set after four straight points from South Dakota. An ace from Farris put the Yotes up 16-10, their largest lead up to that point. South Dakota continued to increase its lead and ended the set with a 6-1 run capped by a Ball kill to take the third 25-15.
 
After North Dakota jumped out to a 7-2 lead in set four, the Yotes began to chip away and tied the set at 11-11 after a Nelson kill. Nelson put away three kills in a 5-2 run for the Yotes in the middle of the set to pull ahead 15-13. A pair of kills from Medeck sandwiched a Cora Hokenstad ace as the Yotes extended their lead to three, but was swiftly answered by five straight from UND. A service error from UND put the Yotes on set point, 24-22, but on the brink of the Yotes pushing the match to a fifth set, the Fighting Hawks closed out the set and match with four straight points.
 
South Dakota returns to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Saturday for its conference home opener against Oral Roberts at 12:30 p.m.
 
Notes

• South Dakota's 15 game win streak over UND was snapped tonight
• Kamryn Farris eclipsed 1,500 career digs on the night and became the sixth player in program history to reach that mark
• Farris tallied 22 digs for the second match in a row and it was her sixth match of the season with 20+
• Farris, Sam Untiedt and Sierra Pokharel all recorded two aces on the night
• Pokharel recorded double-digit digs for the fifth straight match