Box Score BEMIDJI, Minn. (BSU Gymnasium) [box] - In a tight-knit battle the Bemidji State volleyball team dropped its second consecutive match at home to the Wayne State College Wildcats. Wayne State upended the Beavers by scores of 30-25, 29-31, 30-19, and 30-28.

The Beavers attack was as effective as it has been in its last three matches as they collected 69 kills hitting at a .181 (69k-30e-216at) clip as freshman Heather Sampson (Fr., OH, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) paced the team with a career-high 21 kills and leading the Beavers in hitting percentage, hitting .250 (21k-7e-56at) for the match. Freshman counter-part Nicole Olson (Fr., OH, Baudette, Minn.) added 17 kills while Brie Groskreutz (So., OH, Reedsburg, Wis.) spiked down 12 kills.

Chelsea Geisler (Jr., LB, Grand Rapids, Minn.) was the Beavers’ leading defensive player as she led all players with a career-high 28 dig performance. Anna Leafblad (So., MB, Blaine, Minn.) once again controlled the net for the Beavers garnering for blocks on the afternoon.

Setter Alicia Beaman (Jr., S, St. Paul Park, Minn.) collected 48 assists in the match and was also an active part of the BSU passing game netting 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the year. Groskreutz added 20 digs for her team-leading 6th double-double.

The Wildcats were led by Emily Schroeder who topped all players with 29 kills. In addition, Schroeder posted 10 blocks (1bs-9ba) to lead all players at the net, to record one of two Wildcat double-doubles. Tessa Wietfeld notched 25 digs while Jenna Jansen put up 70 assists to pace the Wildcat offense. Jansen also recorded 12 digs to join Schroeder with a double-double.

In a match that could of went either way the Wildcats had a little more offensive explosion when it counted and downed the Beavers, 3-1. In game one there were eight tie scores and one lead change. The Beavers held the lead all the way up until when the score was tied at 14-14. Behind the serving of Emily Schroeder the Wildcats pushed ahead 16-14. Wayne State never looked back and went on to take the first game 30-25.

Game two was the best game of the match, in a back-and-forth battle there were 18 tie scores and eight lead changes. The largest lead any team held throughout the game was three by Wayne State, 28-25. The Beavers showed a lot of fight as they would battle back and earn the win 31-29. The game two win for the Beavers was the first game the Beavers have won in a match against Wayne State since Nov. 15, 2003.

For the second straight night the Beavers came out sluggish after the break and Wayne State took advantage downing the Beavers 30-19. Game three the Beavers only hit .125 (14k-8e-48at) while the Wildcats hit .395 (17k-2e-38at). Game four was another battle. The Beavers jumped out to a early lead at 8-2 and 10-4 but was unable to hold on. WSC kept chipping away at the Beaver lead and eventually took the lead at 26-25 and was able to hold on for a 30-28 game four win to take the match.

With the win the Wildcats improve its record to 16-2 over the Beavers and extend its winning streak to seven matches over BSU. The last time the Beavers beat the Wildcats was on Nov. 15, 2003 when the Beavers beat Wayne State College in three games in Wayne, Neb.. The Mustangs are now 8-1 all-time at the BSU Gymnasium.

Bemidji State (6-9; 3-7 NSIC) will be looking to stop a three-match losing skid on Tuesday, Oct. 9, as the Beavers will step out of conference play to host the St. Cloud State Huskies from the BSU Gymnasium. BSU beat St. Cloud State earlier this season 3-1 in St. Cloud, Minn. First serve of the match is set for 3:00 p.m.

--beavers--