BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State University volleyball team fell short of a rally against No. 20 St. Cloud State University Tuesday night to end its three-match homestand. The Beavers (0-11, 0-3 NSIC) fell in the first two sets of the match but responded with a set three victory, but the Huskies (7-3, 3-0 NSIC) held off BSU's rally in the fourth set with a 25-22 set win.

After falling 25-9 and 25-13 in the opening two sets, the Beavers bounced back in the third set with a 25-23 win fueled by a 5-0 scoring run when the score was 17-16 in favor of SCSU. BSU tried to rally again late in the fourth set and took a 21-20 lead, but a 5-1 rally by the Huskies ended the set and match by score of 25-22.

Bemidji State totaled 40 kills to 53 by SCSU and were out-hit in the match after the Huskies hit at a .371 clip compared to .137 by BSU. The Beavers were led by senior Anna Averkamp who totaled 15 kills including five in set three and also paced the team by hitting at a .216 efficiency. She was followed by sophomore Hallie Mertz who totaled 10 kills and hit .179 while junior Meeghen Dahlager added six and hit .211.

Freshman Emily Wade totaled 38 assists for the Beavers' attack while sophomore Madison Weyker led the Beavers' defense with 11 digs followed by 10 digs from sophomore Maddi Siedenburg. 

Averkamp also posted a season-high 20.5 points in the match after totaling a career-high five aces and added one block assist. Sophomore Rylie Bjerklie led the Beavers with five blocks (1s-4a), also a career-mark for her. 

Bemidji State will hit the road for its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road trip of the season this weekend and will travel to (RV) Augustana University and No. 8 Wayne State College Sept. 24-25, respectively. 

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—