Knuth, Bison Surge Past IPFW in Four Sets

FARGO, N.D. - Chrissy Knuth hit .516 with 16 kills to lead North Dakota State to a 22-25, 25-21, 25-10, 25-16 victory over IPFW in Summit League women's volleyball Friday, Oct. 21, before a crowd of 1,026 at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.

Knuth was one of four players in double figures for North Dakota State (17-8, 10-2).  Megan Lambertson hit .500 with 13 kills and four blocks, Janna Deyle hit .474 with 10 kills and four blocks, and Carissa Whalen added 10 kills off the bench.

Emily Spencer had 14 kills and Jessie Manwaring 12 for IPFW (15-7, 8-3).  Libero Tessa McGill made a match-high 24 digs for the Mastodons.

Setter Jennifer Lopez had 45 assists, 11 digs and three blocks, and Brynn Joki made 18 digs to lead four players in double figures for NDSU.  The Bison outhit IPFW by a .353 to .114 margin.

IPFW trailed 5-3 in the opening set before going on a 5-0 run to take the lead for good.  The Mastodons belted 18 kills in the opening set and hit .265 as a team.

The second set was tight most of the way until the Bison pulled away late.  NDSU called a timeout down 20-19 and then went on a 5-0 run to reach set point.

North Dakota State cleaned up its game after the intermission.  The Bison were errorless in the third set and had only one error in the fourth while hitting .464 and .591, respectively.

Deyle accounted for all of NDSU's first six points in the third set on four kills, a double block and a service ace to force IPFW's first timeout.  The Mastodons burned their second timeout after two errors made it 9-2, and the Bison quickly made it a double-digit lead with a six-point run to make it 16-4.

Knuth had seven of her 16 kills in the fourth set, including four of NDSU's last five points to seal the victory.

North Dakota State is scheduled to play Oakland at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22.  The Golden Grizzlies are 12-9 overall and 6-5 in the league after a four-set win at South Dakota State on Friday night.