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FARGO, N.D. - Seeking its first victory inside Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse, the Western Illinois volleyball team was held to a .096 attack percentage and allowed North Dakota State to hit .318 in a 3-1 loss (13-25, 16-25, 25-23, 14-25) Friday night.

NDSU middle hitters Chrissy Knuth and Megan Lambertson combined for 28 kills, a .520 attack percentage and seven of the Bison's 13 total blocks. NDSU's 13 total blocks is the highest total by a Western Illinois opponent this season and the Bison (12-9, 9-3 Summit League) also collected eight aces against the Fighting Leathernecks (6-15, 2-10 Summit League).

"North Dakota State played aggressive and smart tonight," said Western Illinois head coach Kym McKay. "Their middle hitters (Chrissy Knuth and Megan Lambertson) were involved a lot more than the last time we met (Oct. 9 in Macomb) and that was a huge difference. We were able to compete when we pressured them to set other hitters, but Knuth and Lambertson were unstoppable."

Junior Allison Gilbert paced the Leatherneck attack with 13 kills for her team-high 16th double-digit performance this season. Western's middle blockers were strong at the net Friday as sophomore Katie Hosteng posted nine kills and junior Cait Egan added seven. In addition, junior middle hitter Megan Toczek chipped in three digs, two kills and the first two service aces of her career.

Freshman Heather Smith had 33 assists for her ninth 30-plus assist performance of the season and first such outing since Sept. 24 against IUPUI. Smith also tied a career-high with four kills on seven attempts.

Defensively, senior Ellen Miller crossed the 1,000 career digs milestone with a match-high 16 digs. Miller, who owns five straight double-digit dig performances, needs three more digs to pass Diane Ellefritz (1,009) for ninth place all-time in program history. Freshman Jessie Lantz set a career-high with 12 digs and sophomore Bridget Murphy chipped in 12 digs of her own.

Gilbert, Hosteng and freshman Meghan Ross all recorded two kills in the first set, but North Dakota State hit .320 and posted three aces on their way to a 25-13 victory. In the second set, Gilbert had two early kills and Western ran out to a 6-1 lead. However, NDSU fought back to tie the score at 11-11 and captured nine out of the next ten points for a commanding 20-12 advantage. The Bison collected three more aces, five total blocks and hit .367 in the 25-16 win. Gilbert finished the set with five kills and Heather Smith put down two kills on three chances.

Tied 4-4 in the third set, Western rode middle hitters Katie Hosteng (one kill), Megan Toczek (two aces, one kill) and Cait Egan (two kills) on a 6-0 run. NDSU countered with a 4-0 run to trim the Western lead to 10-8. Despite multiple runs by NDSU, the Leathernecks kept control of the set and led 23-19 after a Meghan Ross kill. The Bison tied the score at 23-23 after three kills and a block, but a service error allowed Western to serve for set point. A service ace by Meghan Ross gave the Leathernecks a 25-23 victory and forced a fourth set.

NDSU rebounded from the third set loss by jumping out to an early 6-2 lead in the fourth set. Three total blocks, two aces and a -.065 Western Illinois attack percentage aided the Bison and allowed NDSU to secure the match victory with a 25-14 win.

Western Illinois concludes the annual swing through the Dakotas tomorrow as the Fighting Leathernecks take on South Dakota State in Brookings, S.D. at 7 p.m. The Jackrabbits, who defeated IUPUI 3-2 at home Friday night, are 10-12 overall and 6-6 in Summit League action.