FARGO, N.D.--Tournament MVP Rebekah Roehm had 16 kills and all-tournament pick Jamie Schwartz made 27 digs as third-seeded IPFW stunned top-seeded North Dakota State in five sets for the Summit League women's volleyball championship Saturday, Nov. 21.

IPFW won 28-26, 25-19, 20-25, 20-25, 15-9 and improved to 20-11 overall.  The Mastodons advanced to their first NCAA Division I tournament and snapped NDSU's 20-match home winning streak before a crowd of 1,615 at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.

It was NDSU's first loss to a league opponent in 38 matches dating back to the 2007 tournament semifinals when IPFW beat the Bison in five sets in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Stephanie Lamberti added 14 kills and all-tournament pick Mayara Schlindwein had 11 kills, 20 digs and four blocks for IPFW.

The Mastodons played relentless defense and had five players finish with double-figure digs.  Setter Megan Steenhuysen had 17 digs to go with 43 assists, Roehm had 17 digs and Tessa McGill made 13 saves.

North Dakota State made 12 service errors in the match.  Six of those came in the first set and two were down the stretch as the Bison blew a 24-21 lead.

Both teams made 25 attacking errors and North Dakota State outhit IPFW by a slim .188 to .186 margin.  NDSU outblocked IPFW 14-8.

All-tournament middle hitter Chrissy Knuth tied a career high with 26 kills to lead the Bison attack.  Knuth hit .420 in the match with only five errors in 50 swings.

Knuth had nine of her kills in the fourth set to carry NDSU.  She had three straight kills to get the Bison within 6-4 in the fifth set.

Lauren McLaughlin's kill out of an NDSU timeout again got the Bison within two at 11-9, but IPFW scored the last four straight points on a Roehm kill, attacking error, Schlindwein kill and Steenhuysen ace.

North Dakota State (23-4) had four players with double-digit digs.  All-tournament pick Kelly Lopez made 27 digs, Brooke VandenBergh had 18, and Abbey Perez made 15.

Bison setter Jennifer Lopez had 14 digs to go with 50 assists.

Summit League All-Tournament Team
Jamie Hagerman, UMKC
Chrissy Knuth, North Dakota State
Kelly Lopez, North Dakota State
Rebekah Roehm, IPFW (MVP)
Mayara Schlindwein, IPFW
Jamie Schwartz, IPFW
Monica Suding, IUPUI