Beavers return home to host Upper Iowa and No. 11 Winona State
The Bemidji State University volleyball team returns home after its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road trip of the season last weekend and hosts Upper Iowa University and No. 11 Winona State University. The Beavers (0-13, 0-5 NSIC) first host the Peacocks (10-4, 3-2 NSIC) Friday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m., followed by the No. 11 Warriors Saturday at 5 p.m. Both matches will be held at the BSU Gymnasium.
Bemidji State returns home after traveling to (RV) Augustana University and No. 8 Wayne State College (Neb.) this past weekend. The Beavers fell in two, three-set matches on the road trip and fell to 0-13 on the season and 0-5 in conference play. BSU was led by sophomore Maddi Siedenburg against the Vikings who posted a career-high 12 kills while junior Meeghen Dahlager led the Beaver against the Wildcats with a career-high 10 kills. Dahlager and Siedenburg each led the Beavers with 15 kills over the weekend while Dahlager hit at a team-high .243 efficiency (15-6-37).
Senior Anna Averkamp paces the team with 112 kills this season and averages 2.60 k/s. She is hitting .113 (112-70-371) for fifth on the team while Dahlager paces the Beavers by hitting .160 (55-27-175). Sophomore Rylie Bjerklie is second on the team with 61 kills (1.56k/s) while Dahlager trails with 55 and sophomore Hallie Mertz is fourth with 46. Freshman Emily Wade coordinates the Beavers’ attack at the setter position and has totaled 326 assists and a 7.41 a/s average to rank 11th in the conference.
On defense, the Beavers are led by sophomore Madison Weyker who has totaled 167 digs and is 11th in the NSIC with a 3.80 d/s average. She is followed by Wade who has totaled 86 digs while sophomore Lauren Justesen is close behind with 81. At the net, Bjerklie leads the team with 24 blocks (1s-23a) while freshman Lauren Sitter follows with 15 blocks (0s-15a).
As a team, BSU is hitting at a .094 clip which is last in the NSIC while also allowing opponents to hit at a .290 efficiency to rank 15th. The Beavers average 9.66 k/s to stand 13th while allowing 13.48 k/s which is 15th in the conference. On defense, the Beavers average 1.11 b/s for 15th in the NSIC while their backcourt averaged 12.45 d/s to rank 14th. Bemidji State averages 1.11 sa/s which ranks last in the NSIC. Bemidji State is one-of-four teams in the conference with a winless league record.