Match scores
UND Green Team 25, Alumni 8
UND White Team 25, Alumni 14
Green def. White 25-14, 26-24

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The University of North Dakota volleyball team hosted its alumni Saturday night for an exhibition match at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. It was the first action of the 2012 season for UND, who just commenced practicing 10 days ago.

A good crowd was on hand to witness the action and get their first glimpse at a host of new faces.

"It was really positive, we had a great turnout," UND head coach Ashley Hardee said.  "It was really all about our young players, our freshmen, we have eight of them. It helped getting them a lot of playing time and getting them some important swings late in games when the game is close. It's revealing for those players and puts them in situations they haven't been put in so today was positive."

The format saw the current UND squad split into a "Green" and a "White" squad.  Each team played one set against the UND alums, then the Green and White scrimmaged against each other in a best-of-three format. 

Freshman Emily Thompson led the Green team in the scrimmage with six kills on 13 swings while Nikki Husfeldt had 18 assists and three service aces.  Lauren Clarke led the way with eight digs for the Green defense.

Emily Asche and Tiffany Strand each finished four balls to pace the White offense.  Chandler Spearman played a set each with the Green and the White squads, registering three kills in each set for six total.

The regular season gets underway next week when UND travels to College Station, Tex., for three matches at the Texas A&M tournament. The tourney starts on Fri., Aug. 24 when North Dakota battles fifth-ranked Southern California, who advanced to the NCAA Final Four last season.