DULUTH, Minn. (Romano Gymnasium) [box] - The Bemidji State University volleyball team dropped a non-conference affair to No. 3 University of Minnesota Duluth in three games (30-18, 30-18, 30-25) Tuesday evening at Romano Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Minnesota Duluth.

The Bulldogs hit for .286 (58k-20e-133at) as a team en route to their 16th consecutive win over BSU while improving the school’s record all-time versus BSU to 83-9-1.

Bemidji State was led Brie Groskreutz (So., OH, Reedsburg, Wis.) and Brittney Burns (Sr., OH, LeSueur, Minn.). Groskreutz led the team for the first time this season with eight kills while Burns added seven kills in the match. With her seven kills Burns moves into the third spot on BSU’s all-time kill list with 1,227 passing Heather Hougen (2001-04) who now sits in the fourth spot with 1,225.

Defensively, Groskreutz and Burns also led the charge as Groskreutz had 14 digs in the match while Burns added 11. Alicia Beaman (Sr., St. Paul Park, Minn.) added eight digs in the match witch allowed her to pass Alishia Smith (1993-96) for the eighth spot on BSU’s all-time dig list. Beaman currently sits with 1,120 digs in her career. Anna Leafblad (So., MB, Blaine, Minn.) caused havoc for the UMD attackers as she garnered five blocks (3bs-2ba) in the match.

Beaman led the Beavers offense with 14 set assists while Allison Kunde (So., S, Burnsville, Minn.) added seven assists in the match.

The Bulldogs had a very even paced offensive attack as four Bulldogs garnered double-digit kills in the match. Sarah Wyffels, Kari Wolford, and Lindsey Clairmont each posted eleven kills in the match while Vicky Braegelmann added 10 kills in just two games played. Crystal Hoffrogge led the Bulldogs defensively with 18 digs while Lindsey Clairmont led the Bulldogs with six blocks (1bs-5ba). The Bulldogs accumulated ten blocks in the match while the Beavers garnered seven in the match. Katie Gangelhoff posted the only double-double of the match as she notched 49 assists and 11 digs.

The Beavers charged out of the gate to put UMD in an early 4-1 hole off a pair of Bulldog errors and a kill by Lindsey Weyer (Fr., OH, Loyal, Wis.). The Beavers held the lead all the way up until 6-6 and then the Bulldogs experience kicked in as the Bulldogs pushed its lead to 10 points at 24-14 as the Bulldogs scored 18 of those 26 points. The Bulldogs would close the door on the Beavers in game 1 as they coasted to a 30-18 win.

In game 2 the Beavers would hang around early but the experience of the Bulldogs eventually took over. The Bulldogs held the lead through all of game 2 and once again downed the Beavers by a score of 30-18.

Game 3 the Beavers jumped out to a 3-0 lead off of two kills by Brie Groskreutz and one by Anna Leafblad. The Beavers forced the Bulldogs to take a timeout when the Beavers held a 5-1 lead. BSU pushed its lead to as large as 6-1. The Bulldogs battled back to notch the score at 8-8 and would take the lead for good on a kill by Sarah Wyffels. The Bulldogs scored eleven of the next 15 points to garner its largest lead of the match at 19-13. BSU kept battle put the Bulldogs were too much as they downed the Beavers in game 3 30-25, for the game and the match. The 30-25 loss was the closest game the Beavers have had with the Bulldogs since Sept. 21, 2004.

Tuesday’s contest marks the fourth time BSU has run into a nationally-ranked opponent under first year head coach Laurie Bitter. The Beavers continue to search for their first win versus the top-25 under Bitter and is 2-63 versus the best in the land all-time.

Bemidji State (9-13; 5-10 NSIC) will attempt to put an end to its current one match losing skid this weekend when it travels to Wayne, Neb. to take on the Wayne State College Wildcats on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and will wrap up the weekend with a 4:30 tilt versus No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday in Marshall, Minn.

--beavers--