KENOSHA, Wis. – The Bemidji State University volleyball team earned its first win of the 2018 campaign Friday afternoon after the team rallied to defeat University of Purdue Northwest, 3-2 (26-24, 18-25, 24-26, 25-17, 15-9). The Beavers (1-1, 0-0 NSIC) then took Saginaw Valley State University to five sets as well but fell to the Cardinals, 3-2 (25-20, 21-25, 27-29, 29-27, 15-5).

Bemidji State 3, Purdue Northwest 2
The Beavers’ battled in the first match of the season after taking set one, 24-26, but fell in sets two and three. The Beavers responded with wins in sets four and five to earn their first win of the season. After falling behind 2-1 in the match, BSU responded with its best set and totaled 16 kills to just three errors for a .361 hitting percentage to even the match. Bemidji State then jumped out to an early 10-2 lead over Purdue Northwest in the fifth set to lead to a 15-9 victory.

“Really excited that we finished well in that first match,” said head coach Kevin Ulmer. “Shout out to our backcourt and bench for being able to step up and dig balls and pass and to get over the hump so to speak especially Kelli Auer, Becky Schroeder and Mary Campbell.”

Three Beavers totaled over 10 kills in the match including freshman Mary Campbell who came off the bench after the first set to hit .625 with 10 kills and no errors. Fellow freshman Greta Pazsek led the Beavers with 11 kills and hit .121 while sophomore Becka Cronin added 10 kills on .094 hitting while also contributing 10 digs.

“Mary obviously had a pretty awesome day,” continued Ulmer. “She didn’t even hit in the first two sets, so she came in and hit front row for us and pretty much won the last two games. Emma Hallmann and Maddie Mackinac were great and controlled the ball well for us so overall it was fun game and really excited about the start and hopefully we can take things from there.”

In her first game with the green and white, Mackinac coordinated the Beavers’ attack and totaled 46 assists while also contributing on the defensive side with 13 digs. Junior Emma Hallmann led BSU’s backcourt with a game-high 15 digs while senior Maddie Filipiak led the team with three blocks.

The Beavers ended the match by hitting .201 as a team and totaled 65 digs to out dig the Pride, 65-56.

Bemidji State 2, Saginaw Valley State 3
Bemidji State would be competitive in the second match of the day and forced five sets with the Cardinals for the second straight match. After falling in set one 25-20, the Beavers responded with a 25-21 victory in set two and 29-27 win in set three. The Cardinals would take set four 29-27 however, and rolled through the fifth set, 15-5, to earn the 3-2 victory over the Beavers.

“Really proud of our team and the way that they responded and continued to battle. They impressed me in a lot today,” said Ulmer. “It was fun to watch that team today. They played with a lot of heart and a lot of compassion for each other and they did a lot of things that I’ve never seen them do since I’ve been here.”

Sophomore Anna Averkamp led the offense for BSU and tied a career best with 17 kills in the match while also hitting at a .238 percentage. Junior Julie Touchett and freshman Mary Campbell each followed with 12 kills while Campbell led the team with a .290 efficiency. Freshman Maddie Mackinac had another stellar game coordinating the Beavers’ attack and compiled 43 assists while earning 10 digs on the defensive side. Junior Emma Hallmann led the defense with 12 digs while five other Beavers totaled 10 or more digs.

The Beavers continue play at the Wisconsin-Parkside Tournament tomorrow and will face off against University of Minnesota Crookston and University of Wisconsin-Parskide at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

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).

--bsu—