BEMIDJI, Minn. – Bemidji State University Beaver Volleyball Interim Head Coach Erika Bute marked her first career win at the helm of the Beaver program in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Minnesota State University Moorhead Saturday evening. The Beavers tabbed their eight win of the season and third Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory. 
 
The Beavers and Dragons kept the energy in the BSU Gymnasium high throughout the five-set match. The Beavers claimed the first win with a 28-26 win. BSU bounced back from a one-point deficit of 26-25 to grab three-straight points, finishing with an electric kill from Ava Athman, assisted by Emily Wade, to grab the set-winning 28^th point. BSU struggled to find a groove in the second frame, falling 25-13. The Beavers were able to grab a three-point streak midway through the set off two errors from the Dragons and another Ava Athman kill. 
 
The third set followed similar scoring to the first with BSU taking three points in a row to bounce back from a 24-23 deficit and take the set 26-24. The Beavers tallied three streaks of three or more points in a row with one streak grabbing five points and the others marking three each. The final surge came from yet another Athman kill, a block from Lauren Sitter and Rylie Bjerklie and a kill for Sitter. Extra points were necessary for the fourth set as well with MSUM taking it 28-26. The Beavers tied the set at 26 all but fell due to a Beaver attack error and ace from Raiah Mandell. 
 
The intensity throughout the gym and both teams gave the Beavers a spark in the final 15-point frame. A back-and-forth first half marked a small deficit for the Beavers. After the side switch, BSU came out swinging and grabbed four points in a row, three kills from Sitter and one block from Bjerklie. MSUM would not be able to bounce back from this streak and the Beavers took the set 15-13. 
 
Rylie Bjerklie dominated the court with 21.5 points on 12 kills, six solo blocks and five assisted blocks. Not far behind, Ashley Crowl grabbed 19.5 points from 17 kills, one service ace and one assisted block. Ava Athman tallied the best hitting percentage for the Beavers, marking a .353 with 14 kills on 34 attempts and just two errors. On the receiving end, libero Jada Wlodarczyk earned 28 digs, followed by Crowl with 13. Emily Wade added a season high 54 set assists to her career total, now boasting 2658 total with 733 this season. 
 
The Beavers travel to Winona State University and Southwest Minnesota State University next weekend before returning home to close out the season and host Minnesota State University Mankato and Concordia University, St. Paul Nov. 15 and 16, respectively.
 
For more information on the Bemidji State Volleyball program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on X (@BSUBeaversVB), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) and like 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 and women's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).