BEMIDJI, MINN. -- The Bemidji State (14-16, 6-8
NSIC) volleyball team is not too upset this is the final
conference match
against No. 11 Minnesota Duluth (14-4, 11-3 NSIC). The
Bulldogs, who will join the North Central Conference for
the 2004-05 sports season, played efficient volleyball,
hitting at a .350 (49-13-103) clip to win 3-0 this afternoon.
Scores were 30-21, 30-21 and 30-16.
The Bulldogs have won the last 11 matches over the Beavers,
with seven of those
being of the sweep variety.
This was the final home match for seniors
Nicole McDougall, Kristin
Petersonand
Lisa Smith.
“It was nice to see the turnout for Parents and Seniors Day,” said
head coach
Kim Falkenhagen. “It was a hard fought match but we just didn’t
quite make the adjustments we needed to make.”
Hitting 43 percent (19-3-37) in the first game, UMD never trailed, racing out
to a 10-6 lead. BSU responded with five of the next seven points, but the guests
took control with a 7-2 run. The Beavers forced the Bulldogs into a time-out
after a kill by senior Lisa Smith brought BSU within five at 20-25. However,
Minnesota Duluth earned five of the final six tallies to take game one.
BSU hung close in game two, recording three kills and a block as the score stood
7-8. After UMD grabbed nine of 12 points, the Beavers countered with a 6-1 run
thanks to two service aces by junior
Kelly Piper. The score was 18-20 at that
juncture, but the visitors hit for six straight and 10 of the game’s final
12 points.
In the third game, Bemidji State seemed to have one last rally, taking a 4-1
lead. From that point, the Beavers could only muster eight single points while
UMD notched 25. With the score 26-12, the Bulldogs went on to score four more
points to send BSU to its fourth home loss of the season.
Minnesota Duluth held a 9-5 block advantage and limited BSU to a .080 hitting
mark (36-27-112).
With 12 kills on the night, Peterson places herself 10th in the school records
for season kills. She has 340, passing Lisa Smith, who had 337 last year. Lisa
Smith came away with 10 kills, which is her 12th 10+ kill effort on the season.
Piper tied for game-high honors in digs with 10 and junior
Kristin Smith tallied
31 assists. In her final appearance at BSU Gymnasium, senior Nicole McDougall
had
four kills and a block.
The league’s top hitter and setter came up big for the Bulldogs. Callie
Zwettler recorded 19 kills and Greta Iisakka posted 40 assists and 10 digs. Also,
Zwettler hit a season-best .600 (19-1-30) for UMD.
Wrapping up the 2003 campaign, Bemidji State visits SW Minnesota State on Friday,
Nov. 14 for a 7:00 p.m. start. Then, it invades Wayne State (Neb.) on Saturday
with first serve set for 4:00 p.m.
NOTE: In the all-time series, Minnesota Duluth holds a dominating 78-9 advantage;
the last BSU victory came Sept. 30, 1998...The BSU hitting percentage (.080)
is the lowest at home since it hit .072 against Wayne State (Neb.), Oct. 19,
2002...The loss sends the Beavers to their third straight on the season, the
second time they have done that this season...
Heather Haugen is right behind
Kristin Peterson for season kills, she stands with 335...
Kristine Engman needs
30 more digs in two matches to take over the 10th spot in the BSU annals for
season digs; she has currently has 338...Peterson now has 24 matches of 10 or
more kills in 2003 and 47 in her career.
