BEMIDJI, Minn. - Looking to generate some momentum on the road, the University of Mary Volleyball team took on Bemidji State University tonight for the start of the final weekend of NSIC volleyball action.
 
The Marauder (12-16, 7-12 NSIC) leveraged the offense behind two of the best young hitters on the squad with Lauren Randall and Alexis Jacobs, to earn the season sweep over the Beavers (6-22, 4-15 NSIC) with a convincing match sweep at 25-20, 25-19, and 25-17.
 
Bemidji State jumped out to an early 4-1 lead on U-Mary in the first set, but two quick Beaver errors and a kill from Elizabeth Garcia evened the score at 4-4 in the blink of an eye. The Beavers fired off four unanswered points to extend their lead to 8-4, but the Marauders came right back with a 5-1 run behind a kill each from Randall and Garcia, two Bemidji State errors, and a team block from Paige Smith and Katelyn Olson t even the score once again at 9-9.
 
The Beavers grabbed two of the next three points from the Marauders, but U-Mary regained the momentum with a 10-3 run midway through the set off one kill apiece from Garcia, Randall, Jacobs, Freddie Campbell and Thayna Silva, a Janell Finkbeiner service ace, and four Beaver errors to swing the score back into the visitor's favor at 20-14.
 
Bemidji State had one last gasp in them for the set with four straight points to narrow U-Mary's lead down to 20-18, but Randall and Jacobs took over with two kills apiece, to go with another Beaver error, for a solid 5-2 run to take the first set at 25-20.
 
The teams traded points to start the second set with the score tied up at 6-6, but the Marauders opened up the sails for a dominating 8-0 run behind two kills from Jacobs, one each from Randall and Smith, another Finkbeiner service ace, a solo block from Randall, and two Beaver errors, to jump out to a 14-6 lead.
 
The Marauders kept the lead at 20-10, hoping to match Bemidji State point-for-point through the remainder of the set, but the Beavers fired off a 9-2 run that erased U-Mary's cushion and closed the gap at 22-19. The Marauders proved more resilient, however, as Smith and Randall recorded another kill each, combined with a Beaver error, to close the second set with three quick points at 25-19.
 
U-Mary looked to close out the Beavers quickly in the final set after the teams traded points back-and-forth once again en route to a 11-10 lead in favor of Bemidji State, but the Marauders rallied off a 7-1 run thanks to a kill each from Randall, Silva, and Jacobs, a Casey Reamann service ace, a solo block from Jacobs, and a Beaver error, to turn the tide at 17-12. The Beavers tried to recapture the momentum but it wouldn't matter as the Marauders cruised to a comfortable 25-17 win, capping off both the match and season sweep of Bemidji State.
 
Alexis Jacobs led all players in the match with 15 kills coupled with a .222 hitting percentage; she also earned eight digs, one block assist and a solo block on the evening.
 
Lauren Randall was right there to supplement the offense with 12 kills, a .321 hitting percentage, one dig and one solo block.
 
Paige Smith provided the defensive look on the front of the net with two solo blocks and two block assists to go with three digs and three kills.
 
Janell Finkbeiner got the call as the primary setter and she responded with 23 assists to go with two service aces, one solo block, one block assist and five digs.
 
Katelyn Olson was there to pick up the slack with 10 assists, two digs and a block assist.
 
Alex Brown held fast on the back line with 18 digs to go with two assists; and Casey Remann was there to help with with 10 digs and one service ace.
 
The Marauders will wrap up the regular season tomorrow afternoon in a rematch against the University of Minnesota Crookston, starting at 4:00 PM.
 
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