GRAND FORKS, N.D.—Senior Terra Varney recorded a match-high 21 digs, moving her into second all-time at Idaho with 1.421, but it was not enough to put Idaho over the top at North Dakota on Saturday. The Vandals never quit after falling behind early, dropping the match, 25-18, 21-25, 25-14, 25-19.

"We did not start off strong in game one," head coach Debbie Buchannan explained. "We made a late push at the end to gain some momentum. I thought we did a good job in game two. We were tied with them on the stat sheet through most of the match up until the very end."

Sarah Sharp led the offense for Idaho, recording 17 kills. Kaela Straw finished the match with 16 kills and a team-best .483 attack percentage. Haylee Mathis recorded her ninth double-double of the season, racking up 24 assists and 13 digs.

North Dakota (21-9, 12-2 BSC) got a career-high effort from Tamara Merseli. She led the Hawks with 21 kills and 18 digs. No other UND player reached double figures in kills. Setter Sydney Griffin, ranked sixth in the NCAA in total assists, added 48 on the night.

The Fighting Hawks got out to a quick start in the first set, gaining a quick 9-3 lead. Idaho would fight back from a 15-8 deficit, cutting the UND lead to 21-17. North Dakota closed the set on a 3-0 run to solidify the early lead.

Idaho (9-17, 4-10 BSC) flipped the script on UND in the second set. Two early runs of 3-0 pushed Idaho to a 12-9 lead. DeVonne Ryter capped a 4-0 run with an ace to get Idaho out to a 16-10 lead. A late kill from Becca Mau gave the Vandals a six point lead, 21-15. UND would slim the Idaho advantage to 23-20, but a kill from Sharp and a UND service error tied the match at the break.

UND regained the advantage in the match with a decisive 25-14 win in the third. North Dakota used five runs of 3-0 or better to keep Idaho at bay. The Vandals did not help their cause, hitting into eight errors in the set.

North Dakota continued strong in the fourth set, looking to close out the Vandals. The Fighting Hawks controlled the early portion of the set, gaining a 12-7 lead. Three kills from Straw and two Ryter aces helped Idaho to a 8-0 run, taking a 15-12 lead. The Vandals momentum slowly withered as North Dakota kept the match close. UND used a 5-0 run to regain the lead at 21-18. The Big Sky North leaders ended the night on a 4-0 run to take clinch the match.

"We are definitely make a push," Buchanan said. "It was a good competitive weekend for us. If we reduce some of those errors I think we could have pushed those matches to five sets. We need to have a good week next week and hopefully we will have a chance to play some of these teams again."

The Vandals will return home next week against Montana and Montana State to close out the regular season. Idaho is currently ninth in the Big Sky standings, falling out of a tie with Weber State. The top eight teams in the conference qualify for the Big Sky Tournament.

Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho volleyball by following the team on twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.