SAN MARCOS, Calif. — Bemidji St. defeated Cal St. San Marcos 3-0 on Thursday, winning 25-13, 25-21, 25-19. The Beavers finished with 50 kills and a .356 hitting percentage, while Cal St. San Marcos had 31 kills and hit .259.
The Beavers closed the first set by winning seven of the final eight rallies. Earlier, the Beavers opened with three straight points on
Madison Tripp's serve, including a service ace and an
Isabella Vander Velden kill, before Cal St. San Marcos pulled even at 4-4. The Beavers built separation through repeated swings from
Nevaeh Carlson and
Ella Kratochvil, who each recorded five kills, while
Grace Hoffard added a kill that made it 19-12. During the last stretch, Carlson had kills for 21-13 and 22-13, Tripp added a kill,
Ava Boelter served an ace, and Vander Velden and Tripp combined on the final block to close the Beavers' 25-13 win. Carlson surpassed the 250 career kills milestone, totaling 259.
After an 8-3 deficit, the Beavers answered with a seven-point surge and finished the second set with a 25-21 win over Cal St. San Marcos. Vander Velden started the comeback with a kill, later added a service ace, and helped set up Kratochvil as the Beavers moved in front 10-8 during the run. After the set moved back and forth into an 18-18 tie,
Kayla Gallagher's serve helped the Beavers claim four straight points, including her ace, a block by Vander Velden and
Ava Athman, and a Kratochvil kill from Boelter. Cal St. San Marcos cut the margin to 22-20, but Athman delivered two late kills around another Kratochvil finish, with Athman's final swing from Tripp closing the set. Athman achieved a hitting percentage of at least .409 for the second consecutive game.
The Beavers won the third set 25-19, answering Cal St. San Marcos' mid-set push with a five-point response that turned a 14-12 score into a 19-12 advantage. Earlier, the Beavers moved ahead 5-1 behind three Athman kills and a Kratochvil finish, then kept separation with kills from Carlson, Tripp and Athman. Cal St. San Marcos scored five straight points to cut the Beavers' lead to 14-12, but Athman stopped the run before Hoffard, Kratochvil and Gallagher added kills during the Beavers' response. Hoffard delivered three straight kills to push the Beavers to 24-15, and after Cal St. San Marcos scored four in a row, Hoffard finished the set with a kill from Carlson.
Tripp led the Beavers with 33 assists and added nine digs, two service aces and two kills. Athman shared the team lead with 12 kills, hit .409 and added five digs, two block assists and a service ace. Kratochvil also recorded 12 kills, hitting .360 on 25 attacks. Hoffard finished with nine kills on a .533 hitting percentage and added a block assist.
The Beavers are 5-0 overall. This is the first time since 1989 that the Beavers went 5-0 or better to kick off the season. They went 6-0 that year. Head coach
Hahni Johnson has the best start to a head coach's career since Sharon Purdy's Beavers went 6-0 to start her career in 1973. Cal St. San Marcos is 1-3 overall.
Up next, the Beavers face Saint Michael's College and University of California Merced on Friday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. CST for day two of the Fall Cougar Classic.
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).
