BEMIDJI, Minn. --An electric vibe was pulsating through the BSU Gymnasium right from the start of warm-ups Saturday afternoon and the Bemidji State University volleyball team used it to push them to a 3-0 (25-15, 27-25, 25-19) sweep of Upper Iowa University in the final match of 2009. Junior Brie Groskreutz (OH, Reedsburg, Minn.) set a BSU record (since rally scoring began in 2001) for digs in a match with 38. The mark is also the top dig performance in a single match by an NSIC player this season.

With the victory, the Beavers finish with 11 wins, which is the most by a BSU squad since the 2003 team went 15-17. The Beavers finished 8-12 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, which is the most conference wins since the 2002 campaign when they finished 8-10. The home win also gave BSU its first winning home record at 6-4 since 2003 when that squad posted a 7-4 mark in the BSU Gymnasium.

“We had fun out there,” said head coach Laurie Bitter. “Upper Iowa didn’t play well and we played great. I was glad to get some players into the match that hadn’t had many opportunities this season, like Bethany Thompson, Jessi-Beth McCannell and Hannah Eilers, and see them play well. We played a lot of tough and close matches this year. We’re making progress and moving forward with this program.”

The fans and Beaver players were buzzing through warm-ups, cheering when junior Nicole Olson(Baudette, Minn.) slammed down kill after kill and it transferred into the match. BSU (11-20, 8-12 NSIC) busted out to an 8-4 lead, but UIU (16-18, 7-13 NSIC) went on a run of its own to tie the match at 9-9. A kill by Olson rejuvenated BSU and the crowd, proving to be a catalyst for a 9-3 run, forcing the Peacocks to take two timeouts during the stretch. The Beavers finished the set giving UIU a measly three more points, en route to a 25-15 win. The second set saw the Peacocks hold an advantage through the middle of the frame. UIU had an 18-14 lead, but a 6-0 run by BSU, which included three kills from junior Nicole Solum (RS, Spokane, Wash.), gave BSU its first lead of the set since holding a 5-4 advantage. The Peacocks took a timeout and used it to snuf out the fire, going on a 3-0 run to regain the lead at 21-20. The two teams traded little runs all the way to 25-25, before a determined Olson put-away the final two points on kills served-up by sophomore Jessi-Beth McCannell (libero/setter, Brandon, Manitoba). The Peacocks wouldn’t go quietly, as they fought with BSU to start the third set. The two teams, who were battling for position in the final NSIC standings, were tied 9-9. BSU again used the tie as a jumping off point and used a Solum kill to springboard it to a 7-2 run and a 16-11 lead. The advantage held through the set and in fitting form, the last point was scored by Olson on a monster kill.

Olson finished with a match-high 16 kills and a .389 hitting percentage. Solum earned a standing ovation in the third set during a substitution, and right fully so, as she finished with 13 kills, 11 digs, four blocks and a .276 hitting percentage. The double-double is her second of the season. McCannell posted her first career double-double with 46 set assists and 13 digs. Freshman Laura Carlson (OH, Hutchinson, Minn.) had 15 digs and seven kills. Sophomore Laura Slinger (OH, Faribault, Minn.) posted seven kills and tied a career-high in blocks with six. BSU hit .239, which included a .385 mark in the first set. The Beavers held UIU to a .101 hitting percentage.

Groskreutz’s 38 digs bumped her season total to 534, which falls just two short of establishing the BSU record (since 1980) for digs in a season. She now has 1,377 career digs, which is just nine digs shy of the school’s career dig record (since 1980)

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

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