Starkville, Miss. - Despite a rough start to the match, the Tiger volleyball team persevered and outlasted North Dakota in a 3-1 win on Friday night at the Bulldog Invitational at Mississippi State. The Tigers win was their sixth straight as Pacific moved to 9-2 overall and 2-0 at the tournament while North Dakota (UND) fell to 11-5 on the year and 2-1 in Starkville.

Set scores for the match were: 21-25, 25-17, 25-13, 29-27.

After a quick match in the morning, the Tigers found themselves in a battle against North Dakota in the night cap as both teams struggled early to find traction offensively. However, it was Pacific that found its way first, breaking out of a first set slump to roll off three-straight sets and with them the match.

Early on, Pacific could not get out of its own way as North Dakota ran the Tigers into an array of forced and unforced at the net. Just as the Tigers struggled hitting an even .000 for the set, so too did North Dakota as Pacific forced UND into just as many mistakes to keep them at .000 hitting as well. With neither team being able to score offensively, the set came down to mistakes at the service line as Pacific's attempt to serve North Dakota out of system resulted in four service mistakes which proved to be the difference in the frame.

Down one, the Tigers came back out for set two a different team as Pacific came up with the offense that was lacking in the opening set to even the match. After struggling in the first set, the Tigers' pins came alive as the trio of juniors Kat Schulz and Anne-Sophie Bauer and sophomore Lexi Elman combined to post 16 kills on 38 attacks with just one error. For the Tigers, it was the emergence of Bauer on the left side that really got the ball rolling as the junior tallied three of her six kills in the set during a five-point swing that turned a 13-13 contest into an 18-13 Pacific lead midway through the set.

Even at one set a piece, the Tigers turned up the heat on UND in the third set led by Schulz on the right and sophomore Alicja Wilk in the middle. Unlike the second set, Pacific got off to a fast start in the set to send North Dakota scrambling. The quick start was only bolstered further with a 6-0 run late in the set on the serve of Elman that pushed Pacific's lead to double-digits at 19-9. In the frame, Wilk was able to clamp down the middle for the Tigers as she posted three solo blocks during the set while adding three kills on just four attacks. She finished the night with a career-best five solo blocks and six total bocks. On the outside, Schulz went for a team-best five kills on with attacks as Pacific hit well over .300 for the second-straight set.

With the match under control, Pacific went to put North Dakota away for good in set four, only to see UND fight back to put a scare into the Tigers. In a closely contested set, the Tigers appeared to be on the brink of the match late when they held a 24-21 lead, serving for the match with three chances to put UND away. Three attempts later, the Tigers found themselves in a new contest as North Dakota fought off all three match points. A moment later, Pacific found itself staring at a fifth-set after North Dakota took the lead with their fourth-straight point, only to have Elman come up with a set saving kill. After a block from senior Gillian Howard gave the Tigers a fourth match point, Pacific again saw UND fight back with back-to-back points to push the Tigers to the brink. Despite the pressure, the Tigers would not be denied as Pacific rallied for the final three points in the set thanks to their upperclassmen as junior Kimmy Whitson dumped a kill to tie the set at 27-27 before a Howard block and a Bauer kill put an end to North Dakota's come-back hopes.

Overall, the Tigers won despite hitting sub-.200 as Pacific posted a .193 hitting percentage (63-28-181) in the match. Schulz finished the match with a contest-best 16 kills on .250 hitting while adding 15 digs for her third double-double of the year. Bauer added 14 kills on .297 hitting while Elman tallied 12 kills but also committed 12 errors on 47 swings. Despite her struggles, Elman kept her defense primed as the second-year Tiger tallied 17 digs for her fourth double-double of the year while also tying her career high of three service aces. Joining the two pin hitters, freshman Andie Shelton posted her second-career double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs while freshman Katrin Gotterba led the way with 24 digs.

The Tigers held UND to just .067 hitting as they hit .000 in the opening set and -.071 in the third set. No North Dakota player reached double-figures in kills a Anna Pioske finished with a team-high nine kills on .108 hitting. Defensively, UND posted 15.0 total blocks led by Chelsea Moser's seven.

Pacific picks up play at the invitational on Saturday afternoon when the Tigers face Mississippi Valley State at 1:00 pm CT, 11:00 am PT, before finishing with a match against the host Bulldogs at 7:00 pm CT.