MINOT, N.D. - The University of Mary Volleyball team traveled upstate to take on rival Minot State University tonight, and it was a tough match for the Marauders as they were edge out by the Beavers in straight sets.
 
The first set started off close between the teams; they fought back and forth but Minot State held the early lead at 6-5. U-Mary fired off a 5-1 run thanks to a kill and a quartet of Beaver errors to jump ahead 10-7. Minot State took a moment to settle down and responded with an 8-2 run of their own from four kills, two aces, and two U-Mary errors, to regain the advantage at 15-12.
 
The Marauders closed the gap at 15-14, but it was the closest they would get for the rest of the set. Minot State widened the gap at 19-15, U-Mary closed in at 20-18, but the Beavers eventually closed out the set 25-20.
 
Set two was just as rough for the Marauders. Minot State jumped out to an early 7-2 lead but U-Mary fought tooth and nail to narrow the deficit at 8-6. The Beavers swung the momentum back in their favor after two kills, two aces, and four U-Mary errors punctuated an 8-2 rally, giving Minot State a 16-8 lead.
 
From there, the Marauders had a bit of a hiccup and fell behind at 20-10 before they fought back at 21-14; a trait they have demonstrated all year long. The Beavers, however, made sure it was a last gasp and closed out the second set 25-15, putting U-Mary on the brink.
 
After a bit of respite, the Marauders came back in the third set ready to battle. Unfortunately, luck was on the Beaver's side as they opened up set three with an 8-0 run from four kills, one ace, and three U-Mary errors. The Marauders broke up the scoring streak at 8-1, but Minot State would not slow down and systematically extended their advantage to 20-9.
 
U-Mary had just enough fight left in them to narrow the Beaver lead to 23-16, but it was too little too late as Minot State took set three, and the match, at 25-16.
 
Kelsey Boyd led the Marauder offense with seven kills, 22 attacks, four digs and a block assist. Paige Smith was extremely active on the floor with five kills, 13 attacks, one solo block and one block assist. Janell Finkbeiner steered the attack with 16 assists and seven digs.
 
Alex Brown and Lauren Randall helped solidify the back line tonight; Brown finished with 21 digs and one assist, while Randall earned 13 digs, one assist, four kills and 23 attacks.
 
U-Mary (4-21, 1-15 NSIC) continues their final road trip with a visit to Mankato, Minn., on Friday, Oct. 31, to take on Minnesota State. The Mavericks won the first meeting between the teams in straight sets.