CROOKSTON, Minn. – Following a 60 kill and .302 hitting percentage effort, the Bemidji State University Volleyball team was able to pull away from Minnesota Crookston for the 3-1 (25-22, 27-25, 15-25, 25-18) Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference win Thursday at Lysaker Gym.
Bemidji State (7-10, 4-5 NSIC) hit over .300 in every set but the third. The Beavers tallied 60 kills to 18 errors in 139 chances to hit .302 for the night. Rylie Bjerklie collected 15 kills and hit .609. Hallie Mertz tallied 14 kills and Lilly Bandle added 13. Emily Wade dished out 51 assists. On defense, Lauren Justesen had 13 digs while Ashley Crowl added 11 and Wade made it a double-double with 10. Bandle added three blocks.
BSU won five of the first six points of the opening set. Lauren Sitter, Mertz, Bandle and Bjerklie all tallied kills for the 5-1 lead. Minnesota Crookston (3-14, 1-8 NSIC) fought back to take the lead at 13-9. The Golden Eagles still held a slim 20-19 lead before the Beavers made the final push. With the set tied at 21, Bandle posted a kill to ignite a 4-1 run to finish the set. Mertz added a kill before an attacking error pushed the Beavers to set point. The Golden Eagles kept the set alive at 24-22 before a service error gave Bemidji State the first set at 25-22.
The second set was tight through the first 28 points with the teams tied at 14. BSU looked to be pulling away at 18-15 with Bandle, Mertz, Bjerklie and Justesen all tallying points. The Golden Eagles came back to tie the set at 18. After the teams tied again at 19 and 23, Bemidji State moved to set point at 24-23 on a kill by Crowl. Minnesota Crookston reeled off the next two points to move to set point at 25-24. The Beavers regrouped and closed strong with Bandle, Sitter and Mertz posting kills for the 27-25 second set win.
BSU held a 10-8 lead in the third set after Sitter posted a solo block. UMC roared back with a 6-0 run for the 14-10 lead. Despite points from Bjerklie and Mertz, the Golden Eagles finished the set on a 11-5 run for the 25-15 third set win and forced the match to a fourth set.
Ahead 6-5, Bemidji State took that one-point advantage and broke the set open with an 8-0 run. Following a service error, Bandle and Crowl combined for a block, Sitter and Bandle then added solo blocks and around a few attacking errors, Sitter and Bandle tallied kills for the 14-5 lead. BSU controlled play the rest of the way with the Golden Eagles making a last run to pull to within five at 22-17 before Mertz and Sitter tallied kills and then a service ace by Sitter gave BSU the set at 25-18 and the 3-1 match victory.
The seven wins this year equals the most wins since the 2019 team went 7-21. Another win would be the most for the Beavers since the 2010 team went 12-16.
Bemidji State will turn around and host No. 8 St. Cloud State this Saturday afternoon starting at 2 p.m. inside the BSU Gym. The Huskies fell to No. 12 Minnesota Duluth in four sets earlier on Thursday night in St. Cloud.
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) and follow them on Instagram (@BSUBeaversVB)
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association 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).
