BSU Volleyball, off to best start since 2010, host USF, UMD this Friday and Tuesday
Beavers continue four-match homestand
Coming off two home wins, the Bemidji State University Volleyball team is off to their best start since 2010 and they remain at home to face the University of Sioux Falls this Friday night at 6 p.m. and Minnesota Duluth on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. inside the BSU Gym.
Bemidji State is 6-6 overall and 3-1 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play following home sweeps against UMary and Minot State. The 6-6 start is the best 12-match start to a season since the 2010 team was 8-4 through 12 matches. This year’s team has already eclipsed last year’s win total (4) and tied the conference win mark of three. This is the most wins since the 2019 team won seven.
Rylie Bjerklie had a big week posting 15 kills without an error to hit .536 in the two matches. Lauren Sitter hit .378 with 16 kills to just two errors. Ashley Crowl added 16 kills and three errors to hit .342. Overall as a team, Bemidji State tallied 79 kills to just 22 errors in 180 chances to hit .317. Opponents were held to a .060 percentage with 38 kills to 28 errors in 167 chances.
Entering this week, BSU has 576 kills, 527 assists, 102 service aces, 599 digs and 71 blocks. The Beavers are hitting .218 as a team. Opponents have 496 kills, 445 assists, 96 service aces, 562 digs and 70 blocks, while hitting .216.
Crowl leads the team with 123 kills, with Hallie Mertz adding 122 and Bjerklie with 101. Zayda Priebe is hitting .382 with 88 kills and Bjerklie is hitting .353. Sitter adds 85 kills. Wade has 38 assists, averaging 8.11 per set. Mertz is now at 29 service aces, followed by 27 from Crowl. Defensively, Lauren Justesen has 214 digs and Crowl adds 98. Bjerklie has sent back 30 blocks, with Priebe adding 20.
Bemidji State leads the NSIC and is ranked 21st in service aces per set (2.17). The Beavers also lead the conference and ranked 26th nationally in team service aces (102). Individually, Mertz leads the conference and is 16th nationally in service aces per set (0.62). Crowl ranks second in the conference and 31st nationally at 0.57. Priebe leads the NSIC and is 23rd nationally in hitting percentage (.382). Mertz is first in the NSIC and 11th in overall service aces (29), while Crowl ranks second in the NSIC and 20th with 27. Justesen is fifth in the NSIC and 50th nationally in total digs (214).
Sioux Falls is 4-7 overall and 0-3 in NSIC play. So far in NSIC play they have faced Winona State (3-1), Southwest Minnesota State (3-0) and Wayne State (3-0) falling in all three. Sadie Voss leads the team with 143 kills, Elise Gillen has 251 assists and Gillen also has 14 service aces. Caitlin Keller has 136 digs and Jordyn Hamm has sent back 47 blocks, with Jordan Kuper adding 45 blocks.
Sioux Falls is 14-2 in the series since 2010 and has won the last 14 meetings since Bemidi State won 3-1 back in 2011. BSU is 1-7 at home against the Cougars. Last year, the teams met in Bemidji with Sioux Falls holding on in five sets.
BSU will then have a wrap around game the following week on Tuesday hosting Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs are 10-2 overall and 3-1 in NSIC play and are ranked No. 10 in this week’s AVCA Division II Poll. UMD will face Augustana and Wayne State this week before facing the Beavers on Tuesday.
UMD opened NSIC play sweeping both UMary and Minot State and after falling in five at home to Northern State, they swept MSU Moorhead. Cianna Selbitschka leads the offense with 150 kills, while Samantha Paulsen adds 117. Madison Gordon has 471 assists and Emma Kujawa has 15 service aces. On defense, Kaylyn Madison has 219 digs and Hope Schjenken has sent back 35 blocks.
Minnesota Duluth is 99-10-1 in the series against Bemidji State since 1972 and have won the last 35 meetings. That last win for BSU was in 1998, claiming the five-set win in Duluth. Last year, UMD picked up a 3-0 win in Bemidji. BSU is 6-51-1 at home in the series.