Ehlert, Grover Pace Volleyball Past North Dakota in Home Opener, 3-1

Sunday, September 8

Providence, RI

12:00 PM

Brown University

3-1

University of North Dakota

4-4

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
North Dakota	19	26	15	16	1
Brown	25	24	25	25	3

Ehlert, Grover Pace Volleyball Past North Dakota in Home Opener, 3-1

9/8/2019 4:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Makena Ehlert tallied a team-high 16 kills, and junior Eliza Grover landed 12 kills as Brown University volleyball beat the University of North Dakota in four sets, 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-15, 25-16), on Sunday afternoon in its home opener at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

The Bears (3-1) hit .324 in the match and did not allow a service ace in the victory over the visiting Fighting Hawks (4-3), taking wins of nine points or greater in each of the last two sets to close out their opening weekend.

"Overall it was a great weekend," Brown head coach Ahen Kim said. "We had to learn a lot of lessons along the way but learned them quickly and rebounded to win twice in five. Today, the lessons of the previous three matches really paid off. We were really steady. Regardless of how we lost a point, we were able to respond with a clean play. Instead of getting frantic, we were calmer and more determined. We were very controlled throughout the match."

Ehlert (Orange County, Calif.) has posted double-figure kills in all four matches this season and added nine digs against UND. Grover (Menlo Park, Calif.) finished with 12 kills for the second time in as many outings, while registering a .344 hitting percentage against the Fighting Hawks.

Senior Gabrielle Moriconi (Naples, Fla.) notched 10 kills for her first double-digit kills match of the year, junior Tylin Stiller (Evergreen, Colo.) totaled seven kills, six blocks, and a .385 hitting percentage, and senior Jacqueline Jacobs (Atlanta, Ga.) finished with seven kills on .357 hitting.

Sophomores Ashley Oelrich (Newberry, Fla.) and Paris Winkler (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) recorded 16 and 13 digs respectively. Sophomore Kristin Sellers (Menlo Park, Calif.) and junior Bailie Salk (Tiburon, Calif.) distributed 26 and 14 assists apiece.

As a team, the Bears hit above .300 in three of the four sets.

The Bears opened the match with a 25-19 win in set one. Holding a 17-15 lead, Brown used a 5-1 run to pull ahead 22-16 before winning three of the period's final five points. Five different Bears posted two or more kills in the frame as the hosts hit .317.

Brown nearly took a 2-0 set lead before North Dakota pulled out a 26-24 win in set two in extra points. The Bears rallied from a 23-20 deficit to tie the score at 23-23 and 24-24 before the visitors captured the next two points. Grover and Ehlert each terminated on four kills in the frame as Brown hit .306.

In set three, Brown powered to a 25-15 win to push ahead 2-1 in the match score. The Bears jumped out to leads of 8-3 and 13-5 prior to using a 4-0 spurt to pull ahead 21-10. Ehlert and Moriconi each charted four kills in the stanza.

The hosts closed the match with a 25-16 victory in set four. The Bears staked themselves to early leads of 5-1 and 12-4 before pulling ahead 20-11. Ehlert registered six kills on .429 hitting in the final frame, helping Brown post a .343 hitting percentage in the stanza.

For North Dakota, Ashley Brueggeman compiled a double-double on 18 kills and 10 digs, Julia Vetter dished out 25 assists, and McKenzie Damon contributed 17 digs.

Next, Brown competes at the Friar Classic, facing Coppin State (Sept. 13, 7:00 p.m.), Fairleigh Dickinson (Sept. 14, 11:00 a.m.), and host Providence College (Sept. 14, 5:30 p.m.).

Video of all Brown volleyball home contests and all Ivy League matches, home and away, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.