MARY, N.D. – The Bemidji State University volleyball team snapped its 11-match losing streak Saturday morning after downing University of Mary 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-19) in Mary, N.D. The Beavers (6-20, 3-15 NSIC) were led by senior Maddie Filipiak who totaled 12 kills in the match, one shy of a career best, and hit .440.

“Adversity makes us stronger if we embrace it and learn,” said head coach Kevin Ulmer. “That’s what the Beavers did today. We’ve been through a lot, but we haven’t always learned from it. Today when set one didn’t go our way we said enough is enough and we made a change. I’m proud of our team not just for what they did on the court but what they did in their minds.”

The Beavers hit .151 as a team but forced the Marauders to hit 32 attack errors including earning 11 team blocks led by Julie Touchett and Anna Averkamp with seven and six, respectively. Despite being out-hit in the match 48 kills to 43, the Beavers found other ways to gain points especially on the serve. Bemidji State totaled five service aces compared to just three by Mary while forcing 10 service errors defensively.

Behind Filipiak’s offensive production, Julie Touchett followed with 10 kills and led the team by contributing 15.5 points with seven blocks, and two aces. Sophomore Anna Averkamp and freshman Greta Paszek added eight kills on the attack while freshman Mary Campbell set the ball for BSU and earned 36 assists, three shy of a career high and also added 12 digs on defense.

On defense, the Beavers out-blocked the Marauders 11-4 and were led by Touchett and Averkamp while Filipiak added four. In the backcourt, Bemidji State was led by junior Emma Hallmann who recorded 18 digs and needs just eight more to reach the 1,000-dig milestone. The junior from Muskego, Wis., will look to reach the mark next weekend when the Beavers host Minnesota State University, Moorhead and Northern State University for parents day and senior night.

For more information on the Bemidji State volleyball program, follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BSUBeaversVB), 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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