The Bemidji State University volleyball team will officially gets its 2014 season underway with their first matches Sept. 5-6 in the Keweenaw Classic in Houghton, Mich.

Fifth-year head coach Wayne Chadwick’s 2014 roster features his most experienced squad. Courtney Volkmann (S, Sr., Wadena, Minn.) leads a group of eight upperclassmen after being named BSU’s NSIC Player to Watch for this season. In addition to Volkmann, the Beavers bring back their leaders in key offensive and defensive categories from 2013. Sophomore Jessica Yost (OH, Bemidji, Minn.) paced the squad in kills with 341, while senior Rachel Craig (MB, Wadena, Minn.) was BSU’s most accurate hitter (.199). Defensively, juniors Kayla DeJong (DS, Jefferson, Wis.) and Chelsea Frison (MB, Whitewater, Wis.) led the squad in digs (407) and blocks (71), respectively.

After facing Lake Superior State, Michigan Technological University, University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Northern Michigan University in the Keweenaw Classic, Bemidji State will have four more non-conference games Sept. 12-13 at the NSIC Challenge in Sioux Falls, S.D. BSU’s first conference action will be Sept. 16 when it faces University of Minnesota Crookston at the BSU Gymnasium.