UND still is position to reach the Summit League postseason volleyball tournament. But the margin of error became a little bit smaller after Saturday's conference match against Purdue Fort Wayne at The Betty.
Fort Wayne (6-7 Summit, 15-12 overall) upended the Fighting Hawks 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 to further its cause in making the six-team Summit tournament later this month in Denver.
UND, meanwhile, dropped to 6-8 and 14-16 heading into the final week of the season.
UND holds down the sixth spot in the Summit with one game remaining next Friday at South Dakota. If UND wins, the Hawks reach the tournament. If not, they can still go if North Dakota State does not win two of its final three matches.
"You hate that because you want it to be in your own hands," said UND coach Mark Pryor. "If we don't make it, that will stink. But I like how our youth is trending."
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UND, minus two regulars, was led by Jordan Vail and Taliyah Flores as each had nine kills. Lexi Ahrens and Ashley Brueggeman each added seven for the Hawks.
After losing the first two sets, UND had a shot at forcing a fourth before the Mastodons rallied. A 4-0 run gave Fort Wayne its first lead of the set at 20-19 and a 5-2 Mastodons run closed out the 25-23 win.
Katie Crow and Sydney Boerst each had 13 kills to lead Fort Wayne.
Injuries and youth have taken their toll this season but Pryor said that's not an excuse.
"They had 21 more kills than we did but we were in all three sets," said Pryor. "I want the opportunity to go to the conference tournament. More than anything, I want another week of practice to see what we can do.
"It hasn't gone as planned but, you know something?, that happens sometimes. We just have to keep going and keep a good attitude."
