CROOKSTON, MINN. -- The Bemidji State (14-14, 6-6 NSIC) volleyball team dropped a 3-0 contest to Minnesota-Crookston (8-17, 4-8 NSIC) tonight at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Beavers were held to a .087 hitting mark while the Golden Eagles hit .263. Scores were 30-24, 30-18, 30-27.

The loss was only the second in the all-time series for the Beavers and the first 0-3 sweep.

In game one, the Beavers led 5-2 after a kill by senior Lisa Smith, but UM-Crookston went on a 15-5 run to take a 17-10 lead. Bemidji State narrowed the deficit to a 20-22 count after junior Heather Haugen recorded one of her seven match kills. However, the hosts shut out the game with the final three points.

The Golden Eagles trailed just once at 1-2 in the second game as they took control thanks to a 22-11 spurt. The Beavers could not muster more than five single points the rest of the way.

A knock-down by senior Nicole McDougall made the third game interesting as BSU led 17-16. With the score knotted at 24-24, Minnesota-Crookston held the Beavers to two kills as it ran away with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference sweep. UM-Crookston’s four league wins is the most in program history since it entered the NSIC in 1999.

Both teams equaled five blocks apiece while UM-Crookston held the service ace advantage, 8-3.
Senior Kristin Peterson came away with her 16th double-double of the season with a team-high 11 kills and 14 digs. Freshman Katie McKenzie notched 10 digs, her second highest career tally. Junior Kristin Smith had 31 assists on the night.

With four remaining matches on the schedule, Bemidji State visits Moorhead, Minn., for a 7:00 p.m. showdown against MSU-Moorhead on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Then, BSU holds Senior Night against Minnesota-Duluth, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2003 at the BSU Gymnasium. First serve begins at 3:00 p.m.

NOTE: Bemidji State still holds a 14-2 all-time in the series with UM-Crookston as the loss snaps a three-match winning streak...The .087 BSU hitting mark is the lowest since a -.047 mark against Concordia-St. Paul, Sept. 20, 2003...Katie McKenzie’s highest career dig total is 12 against Winona State, Sept. 19, 2003...The Beavers drop to 1-13 on the season when having fewer kills and a lower hitting percentage than their opponent...BSU closes out October with a 5-5 record...Kristin Peterson extended her streak of 10+ kills to 10 consecutive matches; Kristine Engman had her stretch of nine matches of double-digit digs stopped tonight - she had five.