JAMESTOWN, N.D. – The Bemidji State University volleyball team split its final day of competition in the Jamestown/Valley City State Invitational Saturday. After being swept by Great Falls (25-22, 25-21, 25-21), BSU bounced back to earn a five-set victory over Jamestown College (19-25, 25-22, 26-24, 22-25, 15-13).

Despite being swept by the No. 24 team in NAIA, Bemidji State was defeated by the narrowest of margins, 25-22, 25-21, 25-21. Kayla DeJong led all players collecting 18 of the Beavers’ 41 digs and Jessica Yost led the team on the block netting five block assists.

“Even thought we lost in three, I wasn’t all that disappointed in the way we played. Great Falls is a pretty good team and I could still see things coming together for us,” said Chadwick. “I thought we played a little bit better than we did yesterday.”

Looking for its second win of the 2015 season, BSU went down early, 1-0, dropping the first set to hosting Jamestown 25-19. But the Beavers came charging back hitting .313 in the second set to earn a 25-22 victory and then took a 2-1 lead in the match narrowly edging Jamestown, 26-24 in the third set. The host team posted a 25-22 set-four win to force a fifth and deciding set. Again the teams traded points, but it was BSU with the lead down the stretch as the Beavers won the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.

Yost again led the Beavers’ attack, netting a match-high 18 kills on a season-high 57 attempts to go with 15 digs for her third double double of the invitational. DeJong recorded a season-high 26 digs to lead the Beavers, while Yost’s three block solos led the way for BSU, which posted nine blocks.

“Jamestown handled Great Falls earlier today,” commented Chadwick. “They beat them in three, so for us to come out and win in five, was a pretty good accomplishment for us.”

“Really, it was an exciting match. I could not be happier and again, continued improvement since last week.

“Monday, Northern Michigan will be a huge test for us, but if we can play with the investment and emotional commitment that I have just seen, it is going to be a heck of a match,” said Chadwick.

The Beavers, now 2-6 overall, returns to Bemidji to open its home season at 5 p.m. Sept. 14 against Northern Michigan University.

For more information on the Bemidji State volleyball program, follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BSUBeavers), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers and Volleyball Facebook) 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 wooden region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, BSU 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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