Bemidji, Minn. - A fast start and a big lead in the first game was what the Beavers needed tonight on head coach Patricia Mickow’s birthday. BSU led by as much as 10 points at 25-15 in game one to gain momentum and earn the 3-0 sweep of St. Scholastica (3-6). Scores were 30-22, 30-26, and 30-21.

Mickow cites her team’s confidence as a big advantage in this one. “We played with a lot more confidence tonight. We were able to convert the digs that they were giving us into our offense right away.”

Game two went in favor of CSS at first as they built a 9-6 lead. However, Bemidji State would storm back to notch the score at 13 and closed the game on a 12-7 run. The third game was a nip-and-tuck affair until the Beavers went up by a tally of 10-9 and never looked back as they scored five straight at one point to earn the second win in as many games at home.

Junior middle blocker Karri Turk (Bird Island, Minn.) paced the Beaver offense with 12 kills, while sophomore defensive specialist Kristine Engman (Virginia, Minn.) had 15 digs and sophomore setter Kristin Smith (Rockford, Ill.) followed up her 49-assist career effort on Friday with 45 tonight.

“Smith did a great job in setting. She was running all over the place because our passing was not too good,” said Mickow.

The busy week continues for the Beavers as they will travel to Omaha, Neb., for the NSIC/NCC Tournament on Friday and Saturday. BSU faces the prospect of battling the #20 team in the country in Augustana on Friday. Then, they it will square off against NCC-member South Dakota later in the day and Michigan Tech on Saturday.

NOTES: The last time BSU started out 2-0 at home was in the 1997 season under head coach Donna Palivec...The last time Bemidji State earned back-to-back 3-0 sweeps was vs. UM-Morris (10-28-00) and vs.Winona State (11-3-00) ...The Beavers held St. Scholastica to a .039 hitting percentage on the night, the lowest for an opponent since a 3-0 victory over Winona State (11-3-00) as it had a .031 hitting percentage.