The Bemidji State University volleyball team fell in a close match at University of Minnesota Crookston Tuesday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action. The Beavers (3-8, 0-3 NSIC) fell to the Golden Eagles (4-7, 1-2 NSIC), 3-2, (24-26, 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 15-9) to fall to 3-8 on the season.
“We had opportunities in sets one and four to close out the set but we let it slip through our fingers,” said head coach Kevin Ulmer. “We’re young and we’re going to make mistakes but I got to give credit to Becka Cronin, Anna Averkamp and Emma Hallmann. They played lights out and were key factors that kept us in the match. We’re certainly getting better. There’s a lot of fight there.”
The Beavers fell in the first set 26-24 but answered back by winning sets two and three to turn momentum in favor of BSU with the two-set swing. However, the Golden Eagles rallied back by winning set four with a narrow 25-23 margin. The Beavers ran out of gas in the fifth set, falling 15-9.
The Beavers hit .208 as a team during the match, the second highest mark this season and had just as many kills (59) as the Golden Eagles but had 16 service errors to just seven for UMC.
Bemidji State saw tremendous play from two of its outside hitters in Becka Cronin and Anna Averkamp. Cronin led the team by tallying a career high 15 kills while Averkamp followed with 14 of her own and had a team-high .296 hitting efficiency.
Junior Sami Leach coordinated the Beavers’ attack and tallied a career-high 47 assists for her first 40 or more mark on the season.
BSU played very well on the defensive side of the ball earning 19 blocks as a team and 60 digs. Sophomore Emma Hallmann led the team with 27 digs, her highest total of the season and two shy of a career-high while Maddie Filipiak anchored play at the net by recording a career-best eight blocks.
Junior Jessica Reega also had a productive night tallying 12 kills and hitting .250 while totaling seven blocks on the defensive side of the net.
The Beavers will look to rebound this weekend by hosting Southwest Minnesota State University and University of Sioux Falls, Sept. 22-23.