Coming into the year, the UND volleyball team had never lost a single game to Chicago State. The Cougars had also never scored more than 20 points in any game.
But on Saturday, Chicago State opened up a 23-20 lead on the Sioux in Game 1.
So the Cougars have now scored more than 20 points in a game, but they still haven't avoided a sweep by the Sioux.
UND charged back to win the opening game, catapulting the Sioux to a 26-24, 25-20, 25-11 victory over Chicago State in Great West Conference play at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
"Those first two sets, give Chicago State credit," said UND coach Ashley Hardee, whose team improved to 14-4. "That's the best I've seen that team in two years. They're better organized, better defensively, better attacking. They gave us a little hard time early on, but I liked our composure. We didn't get rattled."
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After the Sioux fell behind 23-20 in the opening game, UND closed on a 6-1 run -- a stretch highlighted by a pair of kills by Lisa Parlich.
Zapping Chicago State's momentum carried the Sioux to the sweep.
"You never want anyone to come in here and get any confidence," Hardee said. "We want them to be uncomfortable all the time."
The Sioux featured some unique lineups. Hardee said his team is experimenting with a number of combinations and giving some young players experience.
"We've been changing things up in practice and figuring out what our best lineup is," Hardee said. "We were able to get Devin (Trefz) and Annika (Smed) a break to keep their legs fresh for the conference run."
Ronni Munkeby led the Sioux offense with 13 kills, while Trefz had nine and Parlich had eight. Ellen Krueger had 29 assists, while Nikki Husfeldt -- usually UND's main setter this season -- had 14 assists.
"I thought it worked out well for us," Parlich said of the lineup tweaks. "That's what I like about our team: We can change up the lineup and still come out strong. It doesn't matter what lineup we're playing with."
Freshman Lexi Robinson was one of the beneficiaries of the Sioux resting a couple of their top players.
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In an increased role, Robinson had seven kills and one block.
"Lexi did a real nice job in sets two and three," Hardee said. "It was a lot to ask of a freshman. It was a heavy load, but she did a great job with it."
Chicago State was paced by nine kills from Rachel Levitt and eight kills by Mazvita Maziveyi.
UND 3,
Chicago State 0
Key play: Lisa Parlich's kill for a 25-24 lead in Game 1.
Key player: Ronni Munkeby, 13 kills.
