Beaver Volleyball travels to Colorado for Mountain Lion Classic this Friday and Saturday

Coming off two wins to end the Ray Thrasher Classic, the Bemidji State University Volleyball team will look to carry that momentum into another tournament this Friday and Saturday in Colorado at the Mountain Lion Classic.

Bemidji State (2-2) rolled to a 3-0 win over Carson-Newman and then fought off a challenge from host Trevecca Nazarene to win in four sets to finish their trip to Nashville strong. It’s the first time since 2019 that the Beavers have started 2-2 or better through the first four matches. During the 2019 season, BSU went 3-1 to open the season at the Ferris State Invitational.

BSU has 172 kills, 160 assists, 36 service aces, 177 digs and 19 blocks through the first 14 sets of the season. Junior Ashley Crowl is off to a strong start posting 44 kills, 33 digs and eight service aces and was a nominee for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Offensive Player of the Week. Junior Emily Wade set the table with 112 assists, and she was a nominee for NSIC Setter of the Week. Wade had at least 21 assists in all four matches, with a high of 36. Senior Lauren Justesen led the back row and was an NSIC nominee for Defensive Player of the Week with 65 digs. She had at least 11 digs in the four matches, with a high of 25.

Senior Hallie Mertz had a big week across the board for the Beavers. She tallied 38 kills, led the team with nine service aces, tallied 30 digs and four blocks. Sophomore Zayda Priebe tallied 28 kills and sent back five blocks. Senior Rylie Bjerklie and junior Lauren Sitter added 25 kills apiece. Bjerklie led the team with 10 blocks.

Through the first week of the season, Bemidji State leads the NSIC in service aces and rank seventh in both kills and assists. Mertz is fourth in the conference in service aces, while Crowl is fifth. Justesen is eighth in digs and Wade is 10th in assists.

Bemidji State will face Western Oregon at 11:15 a.m. and host Colorado-Colorado Springs at 8:15 p.m. on Friday. Then on Saturday, the Beavers will go against Saint Martin’s at 11:15 a.m. and Western Colorado at 3:45 p.m.

This will be the first time Bemidji State has faced Western Oregon. The Wolves are off to a 4-0 start with wins against Stanislaus State, Chico State, Academy of Art and Fresno Pacific. WOU is off to their best start since 1999. Madison Hornback leads the offense with 51 kills, while Bailee Hartsook adds 35. Kealani Rosa sets the offense with 63 assists, with Laney O’Neil adding 55. Hornback leads the back row with 44 digs and Sophie Matlock adds 43. Bella MacLellan has sent back 15 blocks, with Chloe Asciutto adding 13.

To close the day on Friday, BSU will face Colorado-Colorado Springs for the first time. The Mountain Lions are 0-4 to start the season falling to Cal State East Bay, Azusa Pacific, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Concordia (CA). They will play Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s before facing BSU on Friday night. Raegen Emery leads UCCS with 37 kills, while Sydnee Walker and Lauryn Shockley add 32 apiece. Maylen Mitrovich sets up the offense with 81 assists and Joei Barela adds 61. Mackenzie Ransom leads the back row with 54 digs and Walker adds 42. Julia Geiger and Nicole Medlin each have 11 blocks.

Bemidji State will face Saint Martin’s for the second time in program history on Saturday. The teams played each other during the 2021 season in Billings, Mont., with the Saints taking the 3-1 victory. The Beavers have five players on their current roster that played in that match (Bjerklie, Wade, Sitter, Crowl and Justesen). Saint Martin’s is 2-2 with wins against Purdue-Northwest and Oklahoma Christian. They lost the final two matches of the Westminster Tournament against Nebraska-Kearney and Texas Woman’s. Emily Garten leads the offense with 58 kills, with Emmy Hansen adding 45. Karla Soto sets the offense with 165 assists. Abigail Halstead leads the back row with 56 digs and Soto adds 45. Maddy Gooding and Jennifer Soha each have 13 blocks.

To close the tournament, the Beavers will face Western Colorado. The Mountaineers are 2-2 on the season with wins against Eastern New Mexico and West Alabama. They were defeated by Southwestern Oklahoma State and Midwestern State. This will be the first meeting between the teams. Maggie Olson leads the offense with 45 kills, with Olive Rolseth adding 29. Nur Turkmenoglu sets the table with 123 assists. Elizabeth Rupprecht leads the back row with 58 digs and Seyun Park has sent back six blocks.

Fans will be able to follow the action with live video and live stats throughout the Mountain Lion Classic. Live video will be available here and live stats will be available here.

Following the trip to Colorado, Bemidji State will jump into NSIC play on Friday, Sept. 15 at MSU Moorhead starting at 6 p.m.