CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team rallied from down 2-1 to upend Bemidji State University 3-2 (26-24, 20-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-9) at Lysaker Gymnasium Tues., Sept. 19. Minnesota Crookston picked up their first conference victory of the 2017 season with the win. The Golden Eagles came in with confidence at the start of the fourth set and were able to control the pace of the game in the final two sets to take the victory.

Minnesota Crookston improved to 4-7 (1-2 NSIC) with Tuesday's win. The victory is the first in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) for Head Coach Sarah Rauen. Bemidji State falls to 3-8 (0-3 NSIC). The Golden Eagles have now taken the last three matches against the Beavers. Minnesota Crookston improves to 19-23 all-time against Bemidji State.

The Golden Eagles were led by the play of middle hitter Kelci Green (R-Sr., Anoka, Minn.), who was lights out with 19 kills and a .457 hitting percentage. Kassi Green (R-Sr., OH, Anoka, Minn.) added 18 kills, but hit just .051 for the match with 15 errors on 59 attacks. Kaitlin Sikkink (R-So., MH/RS, St. Charles, Minn.) notched nine kills from the right side, while Callie Schapekahm (Jr., MH, Eagan, Minn.) chipped in six kills and hit .250 for the match.

Kaycie Hagen (Sr., S, Savage, Minn.) guided the offense with 47 assists on the match for an average of 9.4 assists per set. Hagen helped the Golden Eagles to a .208 attack percentage with 59 kills and 23 errors. Minnesota Crookston's best set came in the most important set of the match as they had nine kills with just three errors and a .261 attack percentage in the fifth set.

Defensively, U of M Crookston was strong as they had 83 digs on the match. Hagen led the way with 15 digs, as did Becca Vandenheuvel (Sr., DS, Cannon Falls, Minn.). Maggie Perrel (R-Sr., DS, New Germany, Minn.) added 14 digs, as did Ali Schueler (R-So., Howards Grove, Wis.). The defense helped generate a lot of rallies that kept the Golden Eagles in on crucial points in the match.

Minnesota Crookston added nine blocks on the match, led by three block assists and one solo block from Schapekahm. Kassi Green chipped in three block assists.

Bemidji State looked to the play of freshmen Anna Averkamp and Becka Cronin on the offensive end. Averkamp had 14 kills and hit .296, while Cronin added 15 kills and hit .268. Right side hitter Jessica Reega notched 12 kills.

At setter, Sami Leach led BSU with 47 assists. Bemidji State hit .208 on the match with 59 kills and 23 errors.

Defensively, libero Emma Hallmann led the way with 27 digs. On the block, Reega led the way with seven block assists.

Bemidji State came out of the gate in the first set with a 5-0 run. Minnesota Crookston would come back and cut the lead to 8-6 on a Kassi Green kill. The Beavers responded and pushed their lead to 11-6. However, Minnesota Crookston won 9-of-13 points to knot the match up 15-15 with an Averkamp attack error. The Golden Eagles would build off of their run and come away with key points down the stretch, including two crucial kills from Kassi Green to win 26-24.

The Golden Eagles pushed BSU in the second set, but struggled down the stretch as they gave up seven of the last nine points to the Beavers. Bemidji State took the set 25-20.

Minnesota Crookston faced a similar problem in the third set as they gave up six of the final nine points to the Beavers. Bemidji State took the third set 25-21 to take the 2-1 advantage.

The Golden Eagles used a crucial 4-0 run in the fourth set to gain momentum and extend their advantage to 17-12. Minnesota Crookston would knot up the match 2-2 and force a fifth set on a kill from Deaira Gresham (Fr., OH, Maplewood, Minn.) to win the set 25-23.

Minnesota Crookston set the standard in the fifth set right off the bat with a 3-0 run as they forced three attack errors for the Beavers. Bemidji State never went away as they cut the lead to 11-9 on a Kassi Green attack error. The Golden Eagles came through down the stretch as they ended the match on a 4-0 run led by kills from Schapekham, Sikkink and Kassi Green to win the set 15-9 and the match 3-2.

The Golden Eagles remain at the friendly confines of Lysaker Gymnasium to take on University of Sioux Falls Fri., Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. and No. 1 Southwest Minnesota State University Sat., Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.