UND's standout senior duo of Annika Smed and Devin Trefz were held to one of their lowest outputs of the season. The pair combined for just six kills Thursday night against New Jersey Tech.
That was fine with Sioux coach Ashley Hardee.
The Sioux flashed its depth in overpowering Great West Conference foe New Jersey Tech 25-18, 25-10, 25-19 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
"We have four kids who average 2 kills per game or higher, so we don't rely on one person," UND coach Ashley Hardee said. "(Smed and Trefz) didn't have the best first set, but we were able to count on Ronni, Lisa and Tia."
The Sioux were paced by Ronni Munkeby's 10 kills, while Lisa Parlich chipped in nine kills and Tia Russell had six.
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"(Offensive balance) is one of our philosophies," said Munkeby, a sophomore from Lisbon, N.D. "(Setter Nikki Husfeldt) does a good job ... she's a smart player. She does a great job moving the ball around and keeping the other side of the net off balance."
Husfeldt, a redshirt freshman, finished with 35 assists and 10 digs.
Hardee credited a tweak in the Sioux offense with the team's slow start in Game 1. UND and NJIT were knotted at 16 before the Sioux went on a 9-2 run to close the win.
"Out of the gate we were shaky with our timing with Annika and Devin on the left," Hardee said. "They didn't hit their normal percentage. We've changed a couple of things since Utah Valley on Saturday. We'll do that offensively throughout the year as film circulates."
Although the Sioux offense was a work in progress, UND's defense was rock solid throughout.
The Sioux had 13 team blocks to NJIT's three.
"We kind of came out flat, but our defense stayed strong all night," Munkeby said.
Russell led the way with eight blocks, while Munkeby had four.
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Munkeby had a strong all-around night as her 10 kills came on 15 swings.
"She was great," Hardee said. "She was hitting much more aggressive angles and mixing in a tip when the time came to keep them off balance. Ten of 15 is a pretty big number."
The Sioux improved to 13-4 overall and 1-1 in the Great West. UND lost its conference opener to Utah Valley last Saturday.
NJIT, which was picked to finish fifth in the Great West, dropped to 6-12 overall and 1-1 in the league.
UND 3,
New Jersey Tech 0
Key play: Ronni Munkeby's kill for a 17-16 lead in Game 1.
Key player: Munkeby, 10 kills, four blocks.
