BEMIDJI, Minn. – Junior Emma Hallmann needed just eight digs to reach 1,000 on her career entering Friday’s match against Minnesota State University, Moorhead but she recorded a career-best 30 in a losing effort to the Dragons (11-16, 7-13 NSIC). The Beavers (6-21, 3-16 NSIC) fell down 0-2 in the match but rallied back to force set five. Unfortunately, BSU fell 15-12 in the final set and 3-2 (18-25, 26-28, 25-18, 25-22, 12-15) in the match.

Hallmann led the match with her defensive tally, the most digs by a BSU player since Kayla DeJong in 2014, and sophomores Becky Schroeder and Becka Cronin joined in on the career night by also tallying career bests on the defensive side with 21 and 20 digs respectively.

“Really proud of Emma and the work that she’s put in to get to the point that she’s at,” said head coach Kevin Ulmer.

It was a record night for numerous members of the Beaver volleyball squad. Julie Touchett, Maddie Filipiak and Mary Campbell all recorded career highs on the offensive side of the ball as well. Touchett led the Beavers by totaling a career-high 17 kills while Filipiak followed closely with a career-best 16 kills. Campbell had her best night setting the ball and the freshman earned 57 assists, the most any player has recorded since Shelby Haney also recorded 57 in 2016, while also earning a career-best 19 digs on defense.

After falling in set one to the Dragons, 18-25, the Beavers bounced back and held a 23-17 lead late in the set. However, MSU-Moorhead fired off for seven consecutive points to take a 24-23 lead and pushed the set to extra points. The Dragons were able to earn two consecutive points and ended the set 28-26.

“You can’t really ask for a better situation that what we had in set two and didn’t take advantage of it. That’s frustrating and we have to make progress there.”

The Beavers didn’t give up, however, and rallied back with a 25-18 win in set three and close 25-22 win in set four to even the match. BSU fell down 5-1 early in the final set but a timeout by the Beavers changed momentum and BSU was able to pull within 12-13. However, two consecutive points by the Dragons ended the set at 12-15 and the match, 3-2.

“The fact that we were down in the first two sets and came back to force the fifth set is tremendous and I’m really happy that we were able to do that but we still have a lot to learn about how to win games and how to put games away.”

The Beavers set multiple season highs in the match including earning a season-best 68 kills. BSU hit .157 as a team in a season-high 217 attempts and were led by Touchett who hit at a .395 clip. Bemidji State also set season highs in assists (68) and digs (112) for the team’s highest dig total since 2007.

The BSU volleyball team also honored the parents of its 14 student athletes in part of Parent’s Night.

“I just want to give a shout out to all the parents and the support that they give the girls,” said head coach Kevin Ulmer. “Parent’s Night gives us a nice opportunity to recognize them because we are so appreciative of them.”

The Beavers return to action tomorrow afternoon for the season finale and Senior Day. The Beavers face one of the toughest opponents in the nation in No. 5 Northern State University. First serve against the Wolves is scheduled for 3 p.m. at BSU Gymnasium.

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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