MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State University volleyball team dropped their second match of the weekend, this time to No. 3 ranked Concordia-St. Paul, on a night that turned out to be more special than what the scoreline showed.

Despite dropping the match in straight sets, Minot State's Emily Byrne (Sr., S, Reno, Nev.) became the all-time assists leader in Beavers' volleyball history. Byrne broke the record in the middle of the third set, passing Melissa Spelchen with 3,728 career assits.

"It is pretty cool, but I owe it all to my hitters because I can't do it without them," Byrne said. "They're the reason that I have that record right now, so I'm just excited that it came and I'm excited to keep getting more and more, and hopefully hold it for a while longer."

Minot State head coach Travis Ward said the milestone couldn't have been reached by a better person.

"She was the first recruit I had here, and she's a pretty awesome kid," he said. "She does a great job off the court as well as on the court—so yeah. I can't have any complaints."

The Beavers were right in the thick of things in the first two sets , but ended up dropping them 25-20 and 25-19 to the seven-time defending national champions. The Golden Bears controlled the majority of the third and final set, taking it 25-16.

Jen Dixon (Sr., OH, Brandon, Manitoba) led the way for Minot State smashing 14 kills in the setback. Dixon is on the verge of breaking an all-time record herself, needing just eight more kills to become the all-time leader in Beaver history.

Mallory Sall (Jr., OH, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) recorded double-digit kills as well tallying 11. Byrne finished her milestone night with 35 assists while Cindy Pelo (Jr., L, Idaho Falls, Idaho) led the way defensively for the Beavers with 11 digs.

Concordia was led by Riley Hanson who recorded 14 kills in the match.

"I'm really proud of how they're continuing to play and fight," Ward said. "Obviously Concordia's a great team but we kept it close and had some good comebacks in a couple of those games.

"Anything that you do average, they're going to make you pay for it. It just showed why they're one of the best teams in the country and have won seven national championships."
The loss drops Minot State to 3-11 overall and 1-5 in the NSIC. The Golden Bears improve to 12-2 overall and 5-1 in the conference.

Minot State is back on the road next weekend when they travel to Southwest Minnesota State on Friday and Sioux Falls on Saturday.