Bismarck, ND – Trailing at intermission and seemingly staring another loss in the face, the University of Mary volleyball team made a stunning recovery to earn the Marauders their first win in over a year. Behind a big game from freshman middle blocker Paige Smith, the Marauders rallied to win the final three sets in a 3-2 (18-25, 14-25, 25-16, 25-17, 16-14) home win over Bemidji State University.
 
The victory snaps a 29-game losing streak for the Marauders (1-8 overall, 1-1 Northern Sun), including 20 straight in Northern Sun play. U-Mary's last win was against Bemidji State (3-6, 1-1) on September 13, 2011.
 
Smith hammered home 10 kills and hit a team-high .421. The Jordan, MN, native also led all players with nine blocks, one solo and eight assisted. She additionally chipped in two aces.
 
Unable to control the Beavers attack in the first two sets, the Marauders dominated the net the final three sets. U-Mary had a 14-2 lead in blocks for the game and limited BSU to an anemic -.001 hitting percentage the last three sets after the break.
 
Facing another loss, the Marauders jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the third set on a kill by Allison Opp. BSU would close within 14-10 before U-Mary regained focus to increase its lead to as many as eight points.
 
Morgan Zabel made her presence felt midway through the fourth set. With U-Mary leading 14-10, the junior middle blocker connected for three straight kills and the Marauders lead increased to as many as nine points.
 
In a tense fifth set, the Marauders found themselves down 13-10. Three straight attack errors by the Beavers evened out the game. After a Kelsi Crawford kill allowed BSU to serve for the win, a kill by Zabel once again allowed the Marauders to pull even. U-Mary went up one on a BSU attack error before one more kill by Zabel gave the Marauders a long-awaited win.
 
Lauren Boldt paced the Marauders with 12 kills. She also had four assisted blocks. Zabel terminated nine balls and had four blocks (one solo, three assisted) while hitting .400 for the game. Opp registered eight kills. Morgan Dake picked up five kills and five block assists.
 
Emily Turkowski directed the Marauders attack, dishing out 40 assists. She picked up a double double by adding 13 digs.
 
Valerie Lesu led the Marauders back row defense. The libero posted a game-high 20 digs and added two aces. Claire Lulich also hit double digits in digs with 13.
 
The Beavers had three players that reached double digits in kills. Bethany Thompson had 16 kills, Kelly Miles 11 and Crawford 10. Thompson also picked up 11 digs.
The Marauders continue their five-game homestand on Tuesday, September 18, against Minot State University at 7 PM.
 
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