BEMIDJI, Minn. -- [box score] Despite a match-high 13-kill, 11-dig performance by 2006 NSIC Player to Watch Brittney Burns (Jr., OH, LeSueur, Minn.) the Bemidji State University volleyball team was defeated Tuesday evening, 3-0 (30-22, 30-26, 30-28) by the University of North Dakota in non-conference competition at the BSU Gymnasium.

In a tight match misrepresented by a lopsided score, the Beavers and Fighting Sioux played to seven lead changed and 17 tied scores. The difference in the match was UND’s ability to string scoring runs together down the stretch to outlast the Beavers handing them their ninth loss of the season in the process.

As the match got underway, BSU an UND battled for the lead during the first 12 points. With a 7-5 advantage the Sioux pulled away rattling off five of the next seven tallies to force BSU head coach Kim Falkenhagen to call a time out with her team trailing 12-7. The Beavers would come out of the break to net the first two points as play got underway and would string together five consecutive points on the serve of Allison Hyatt (Jr., DS/L, MineCentre, Ont.) to narrow the UND lead to 14-15 mid way through the game. But UND would rebound to take 11 of the next 15 points and run to a 1-0 lead in the match with game one victory, 30-23.

Junior Chelsea Utzerath (Opp., Beavers Dam, Wis.) got BSU on the board first in game two with one of her six kills on the night. The Beavers clung to that lead until Heidi Evans found a hole in the BSU defense to put UND up 14-13.

Neither team could separate itself from the other as the match was tied on three occasions before UND used a four-point swing to break a 24-24 deadlock as the team would go on to score seven of the last nine points in the game to steal game two, 30-26.

Although the Beavers found themselves down 0-2 in the match and 0-4 as the third game got underway, they didn’t give up rallying to score eight of the next 12 points to knot the game at 8-8. Jennifer Janckila (So., MB, Appleton, Wis.) would push the Beavers lead to a three-point (13-10) with one of her 11 kills, but the Sioux quickly regained control with a five-point run of their own to force another BSU timeout, 15-13.

Bemidji State came out of the break to even the score at 16-16 and although UND managed another three-point run to regain a slight advantage, the Beavers continued to plug away, keeping pace with the Fighting Sioux and reeling the team to within one point, 28-29. But Britta Hanson put the game and the match away for North Dakota with her sixth kill of the evening.

In addition to Burns’ eighth double-double performance of the 2006 season, Alicia Beaman (St. Paul Park, Minn.) also turned in a fine match. The junior setter collected her sixth double-double of the fall leading all players with 34 set assists and equaling Burns’ match-best 11 digs.

Janckila and newcomer Anna Leafblad (Fr., MB, Coon Rapids, Minn.) each posted three blocks to lead BSU at the net while Janckila’s’ 11 kills mark her second-best hitting output of the season trailing only a 14-kill match versus New Mexico Highlands early on the 2006 slate.

The Fighting Sioux were led by Tara Holmen whose 13 kills rivaled Burns on the attack. The middle hitter hit for a match-best .333 (13k-4e-27at) while Kendyll Jones added 10 kills for UND in the win.

UND out hit BSU on the night .234 (51k-21e-128at) to .136 (44k-26e-132at) causing frustration for the BSU attack all night. The Sioux managed nine blocks with Hanson leading the way with seven total blocks (1bs-6bs).

The win gives North Dakota a 30-27 lead in the all-time series dating back to 1969 and extends it current winning streak over BSU to four matches.

UND has now been victorious in 11 of 18 meetings versus the Beavers in BSU Gymnasium since 1975.

Bemidji State falls to 6-9 on the year with the loss, but will attempt to snap its current four-match losing skid this weekend when it travels the University of Mary and Northern State University. The team meets NSIC newcomer Mary (N.D.) Friday evening in a 7 p.m. start and will travel to Aberdeen, S.D. Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. tilt with NSU.

-bsu-