Box score
OXFORD, Miss.-- North Dakota hit a season-high .455 in cruising past Alabama A&M (25-16, 25-13, 25-15) in the second match of the Magnolia Invitational hosted by Ole Miss.
"This was a disciplined performance in all parts of the game," UND head coach Ashley Hardee noted following the match. "Emily Asche had another solid game offensively."
Asche killed 11 balls on just 17 swings, without an error, to post an impressive .647 hitting percentage for the match. Those 11 kills would tie a career high for the sophomore, a mark set just a week ago against Green Bay. Felicia Ulrich led the team with 13 kills Friday and Lexi Robinson turned-in 10 of her own as UND stepped on the gas and never let up.
A 12-4 run put UND (4-5) in command early as North Dakota hit a whopping .500 in the opening frame (15 kills, 2 errors, 26 attacks). The accelerator stayed on the floor in the second set with North Dakota squandering just 13 points and just five of those coming on Bulldog kills.
In the final set, A&M (0-10) quickly saw a tight 7-7 score melt into an 18-10 deficit. UND eventually claimed the win, 25-15, to post a split for the day.
UND only had 10 attack errors the entire match and Nikki Husfeldt set-up 44 of North Dakota's 50 kills. Six UND players hit .380 or above in the blowout win.
UND concludes the tournament on Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. match against host Ole Miss. It’s the final non-conference match before Big Sky Conference play opens on Thursday, Sept. 13 against Montana State.
