CROOKSTON, Minn. (Lysaker Gymnasium) - The Bemidji State University volleyball team continued play at the Golden Eagle Classic today as the Beavers played Minnesota State University, Moorhead and Lake Superior State. The Beavers were swept by the Dragons in three sets (17-25, 14-25, 18-25) in the first match of the day but were able to snap a three match losing streak by sweeping Lake Superior State (25-17, 25-20, 25-16) in the Beavers final match of the classic.

In the Beavers first match of the day the Dragons extended their win streak over BSU to 10-matches as they held BSU to its lowest hitting percentage of the season (.038). The Beavers had just 28 kills while making 24 hitting errors on 106 attempts. MSU Moorhead hit at a clip of .250 while garnering 12 more kills than did BSU (40k-14e-104at).

Bemidji State was led by Hannah Eilers (Fr., OH, Little Fork, Minn.) and Heather Sampson (So., OH, Brooklyn Park, Minn.). Eilers set a new career-high with a match-high 11 kills while Sampson notched seven in a losing effort.

Defensively, Jessi-Beth McCannell (Fr., LB, Brandon, Manitoba) led the Beavers as she notched 13 digs in the match. Nicole Olson (So., MB, Baudette, Minn.) caused havoc at the net as she recorded three blocks (0-3).

Courtney Bitter (Fr., S, Bemidji, Minn.) led the Beaver offensive charge for the ninth consecutive time this season as she posted 21 set assists.

The Dragons had a very balanced offensive attack two players recorded nine kills in the match. Cathy Turner and Laura Tvrdik both had nine kills each hitting over .300 in the match. Calla Oftedahl and Cathy Turner led the Dragons defensively as they each reached double-digit digs with 19 and 11, respectively. Mary Sussenguth had nine blocks in the match (1bs-8ba).

With the loss the Beavers fall to 55-61-1 all-time versus MSU Moorhead. Bemidji State is now 26-17-1 all-time versus the Dragons at a neutral site.

Eliminating errors and forcing their opponents to make them was a big part of the Beavers three set sweep over the Lakers in the final match of the Golden Eagle Invite. BSU committed just 28 errors, 13 attack errors, sevens serving errors, five receiving errors and thee blocking errors to its counterparts 37 errors. The Lakers had 18 attack errors, nine serving errors, eight receiving errors, one blocking error and one ball handling error in the match.

For the second consecutive match Eilers led the Beaver attack as she set a new career-high with 12 kills hitting at a sizzling rate of .455 (12k-2e-22at) also a career-high. Olson was second on the team with eight kills off 28 attempts.

McCannell paced the Beavers on the defensive end as she recorded a career-high 23 digs on the evening, she was the lone Beaver with double-digit digs. Lyndsey Weyer (So., OH, Loyal, Wis.) and Olson controlled the net for the Beavers recording two blocks apiece.

Bitter paced the Beavers with 27 set assists with a career-high four service aces.

The Lakers were led by Ali Jones who tied Eilers for most kills in the match with 12 kills, hitting at a rate of .214 (12k-6e-28at). Jones was the lone LSS player to record double-digit kills. Brittany Newberry led the Lakers on the defensive end with 19 digs. Pacing the offense for the Lakers was Ashley Purvis who had 20 set assists.

The win improves the Beavers record to 4-5 which is the Beavers best start to a season through nine matches since 2003 when BSU was 6-3 through its first nine matches. With the win over the Lakers the Beavers improve to 4-5 all-time versus LSS. BSU improves to 2-4 all-time versus the Lakers at a neutral site.

Bemidji State (4-5; 0-0 NSIC) will be back in action next weekend (Sept. 12-13) when the Beavers travel to Duluth, Minn. to participate in the UMD Volleyball Classic. BSU will open the classic on Friday, Sept. 12 against Minnesota Duluth at 12 p.m. and Western Washington at 5 p.m.

Bemidji State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--beavers--