COLLEGE STATION, Texas-- Sophomore Lexi Robinson's 16 kills powered University of North Dakota past Texas State, 3-1 (17-25, 25-13, 25-15, 25-18) Friday night at the Texas A&M Invitational. Robinson added three service aces, part of a team total of seven, in the win over the Bobcats.
"Our serve receive has been really good to start the season and we were able to sideout at a nice percentage tonight," head coach Ashley Hardee said. "We'll need that tomorrow against Texas A&M."
UND (1-1) shrugged off a sluggish start to the game by roaring back in the latter sets. Texas State (0-2) scored the first four points of the game and hit .607, never looking back in the opening set to garner the early advantage.
North Dakota turned the tables in the second set, using a 12-4 run midway through to pile up an 18-9 margin. UND continued to step on the gas following a Texas State timeout, scoring five straight points during one stretch, including four kills from Robinson. UND won the second set, 25-13, to square the match.
After a 10-10 score in the second set, UND scored five straight points and then closed it out (25-15) with a 7-1 run, grabbing a 2-1 lead in the match.
It would be Ronni Munkeby who would take UND to the finish line. The junior co-captain tallied five of her 10 kills in the fourth set alone to propel North Dakota to a 25-18 victory for the win.
Robinson notched a double-double with her 16 kills and 16 digs. Munkeby had 10 kills and added seven block assists. Sophomore Nikki Husfeldt recorded 40 assists in the win.
Ashlee Hilbun and Alexandra Simms had 14 and 10 kills, respectively, for the Bobcats.
UND concludes the tournament Saturday with a match against the host Aggies of Texas A&M. The match is set for a 12:30 p.m. start and will be available on a free video webcast. Click here for more details.
