Bemidji State Volleyball to play at Minnesota Crookston, host No. 8 St. Cloud State this week

The Bemidji State University Volleyball team will travel to Minnesota Crookston this Thursday at 6 p.m. and then host No. 8 St. Cloud State on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.

Bemidji State (6-10, 3-5 NSIC) played at No. 1 Wayne State and Augustana falling in three to the Wildcats and four to the Vikings. The Beavers last played at home on Oct. 3 against No. 11 Minnesota Duluth battling the Bulldogs to an exciting four-set match.

BSU has 729 kills, 671 assists, 120 service aces, 774 digs, and 93 blocks. Ashley Crowl leads the team with 164 kills, Hallie Mertz with 147 kills and Rylie Bjerklie with 134 kills. Zayda Priebe adds 107 kills and Lauren Sitter with 106. Emily Wade leads the offense with 493 assists. Crowl has 32 service aces and Mertz adds 31. On defense, Lauren Justesen has 278 digs, while Bjerklie has sent back 37 blocks.

Bemidji State leads the NSIC in service aces per set (1.97) and overall service aces (120). Crowl is second in the NSIC in service aces per set, while Mertz is third in the NSIC. Crowl leads the conference in service aces, with Mertz coming in second. Justesen is fourth in the NSIC in total digs, while Priebe is fourth in the NSIC in hitting percentage (.354).

Minnesota Crookston is 3-13 overall and 1-7 in NSIC play. The Golden Eagles have lost four straight since defeating UMary in five sets on Sept. 23. Madison Carsten leads the offense with 136 kills. Dana Melby sets up the offense with 423 assists. Defensively, Kailee Waasdorp has 268 digs, while Mara Weisensel has sent back 37 blocks.

Bemidji State is 27-22 against Minnesota Crookston since 1994 with the Golden Eagles winning the last two meetings. BSU is 13-13 in Crookston and last won on the road in 2021 (3-2).

The Beavers will then finish the week on Saturday against No. 8 St. Cloud State. The Huskies are 14-4 overall and 7-2 in NSIC play. St. Cloud State last played on Saturday defeating Sioux Falls in five sets.

Kenzie Foley leads the offense with 300 kills. Emma Berran sets the offense with 711 assists. On defense, Keely Kurschner has 264 digs, while Sam Zimmerman has sent back 48 blocks, with Hannah Bruskiewicz adding 47.

St. Cloud State is 51-22 against Bemidji State since 1975 and have won the last nine meetings. The Huskies are 21-12 against the Beavers in Bemidji. The last win in the series for BSU was in 2016 claiming the five-set win at home.