BEMIDJI, Minn. – Bemidji State University volleyball senior Julie Touchett set the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and program's single-match blocks record with 14 (8s-6a) as the Beavers (5-12, 2-7 NSIC) fall in three, hard fought sets (17-25, 24-26, 24-26) to No. 7 University of Minnesota Duluth, Tuesday night.

Touchett surpassed Nicole McDougall (2001) and Christa Anderson (2004) for the school record who each recorded 11 blocks in a single match while also surpassing the league's record of 13 set by Tarrin Beller (2018) of Wayne State College and Kellan Flynn of University of Sioux Falls (2015).

Touchett's eight solo blocks on the night was also a program record set by Anderson's previous total of six.

Bemidji State battled tough against the eighth-ranked Bulldogs (15-2, 8-1 NSIC) and nearly took their first set against UMD since 2010. The Beavers fell in set one 25-17 but responded by forcing extra points in sets two and three before ultimately falling 26-24 in both sets.

The Beavers had the Bulldogs on the ropes late in both sets and led 19-23 in set two and 18-23 in set three before unforced errors derailed their momentum and Minnesota Duluth went on runs of 7-1 and 8-1 to win each set 26-24.

Touchett totaled a match-high 18 points despite falling in three sets and also tied for the team lead with seven kills with junior Becky Schroeder. Bemidji State hit just .095 as a team and were out-hit 40 kills to 28 while junior Anna Averkamp led the team by hitting at a .278 clip and totaled five kills.

Bemidji State will look to rebound this weekend and will travel to No. 12 Southwest Minnesota State University and (RV) University of Sioux Falls for a Friday-Saturday matchup.

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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