FAYETTE, Iowa – The Bemidji State University volleyball team earned its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference win Saturday, defeating the Upper Iowa University in five sets (25-21, 18-25, 18-25, 25-23, 16-14). The victory was attributed to a total team effort, however, Jessica Yost (OH, 6-3, Fr., Bemidji, Minn.) posted a career-high 21 kills and 13 digs to lead the team. The 21 kills by Yost was the highest total by a Beavers’ player this season. It was BSU’s first 20-kill performance since Bethany Thompson had one against Erskine on September 8, 2012.

Notables

- Courtney Volkmann (S, 5-7, Jr., Wadena, Minn.) achieved her fifth double-double of the season with 45 assists and 10 digs.

- Rachel Craig (MB, 6-2, Jr., Wadena, Minn.) had 11 kills with four blocks.

- Chelsea Frison (MB, 6-1, So., Whitewater, Wis.) had eight kills and two blocks.

-Kayla DeJong (DS, 5-8, So., Jefferson, Wis.) tied for the team lead with 24 digs.

-Molly Monahan (OH, 5-11, So., Hutchinson, Minn.) started all five sets and collected three kills and three blocks.

-Elissa Christensen (L/DS, 5-6, Jr., Montevideo, Minn.) had her third double-digit dig game of the season with 11.

Set Recaps vs. UIU

Set 1: Bemidji State came out with a balanced attack in the first frame. The Beavers had four players with at least three kills in the set. Leading the way was Yost with six, followed by Craig with four and Amanda Tronick (OH, 6-1, Fr., Hutchinson, Minn.) and Chelsea Frison each had three kills. Bemidji State took the first set 25-21.

Set 2: In the second set, the Beavers did not have same success. Upper Iowa got in an offensive groove. Bemidji State also started beating itself. It helped Upper Iowa with nine errors of some kind. The Peacocks did not play a clean game either but the Beavers could not overcome their errors and dropped the second set by a score of 25-18. Leading the way for the Beavers in the second frame was Tronick who totaled three kills to match her output from the first set.

“I thought Upper Iowa did not do anything differently tactically,” said BSU head coach Wayne Chadwick. “They just controlled the ball and were able to run their offense and we couldn’t.”

Set 3: Upper Iowa had two long serving runs that told the story of set number three. The first one helped the Peacocks grow a 1-0 lead to 4-1. The second, and most devastating for the Beavers, was when the UIU’s Kelsey Hinrichs served for seven straight points and stretched UIU’s lead to eight points, 12-4. This eight-point deficit was too much for BSU to overcome and it lost the third set 25-18. 

Set 4: The fourth set went down to the wire. Neither team was able to open up a lead of more than three points. The score was tied at eight different points during the set including at 21, 22 and 23. When the score was tied at 23-23, BSU got a key kill from Yost to take the lead, 24-23.  The Peacocks then committed a critical attacking error, which forced a fifth and deciding set.

Set 5: The Beavers took what they learned from their disappointing loss in Crookston last Tuesday and used that to take the set, 16-14. Bemidji State improves to 3-1 in five-set matches this season.

Coach’s Take:

On the match overall: “I thought when we played our best, we played solid, controlled volleyball,” said Chadwick. “When we lost our ability to control the ball, that is when we struggled.”

Bemidji State 5-8 (1-4 NSIC) returns home to face Minnesota State University, Mankato 7-5 (3-2 NSIC) on Friday at 7 p.m. The Mavericks are coming off a 1-1 weekend with a win over St. Cloud State University, 3-0 and a loss to No. 1 University of Minnesota Duluth, 3-0. Saturday, the Beavers will host likely No. 1 Concordia University-St. Paul 13-1 (5-0 NSIC) after the Golden Bears defeated Minnesota Duluth Friday, 3-2. CU also swept SCSU Saturday. The Golden Bears will bring an 11-game winning streak into next weekend’s play.

For more information on the Bemidji State athletic programs, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BSUBeavers), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) or sign up for the TXTUpdates from BSUBeavers.com text-messaging system through the "Multimedia" pull down menu on the main page of BSUBeavers.com.

Nestled in Northern Minnesota’s wooded region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

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