Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State University volleyball team started off its 2014 season with a bang at the Montana State University-Billings invitational going 2-0 on Friday.

The Beavers swept Black Hills State in their morning match (31-29, 25-23, 27-25) with a gutsy performance while only recording a .186 hitting percentage. Black Hills State had a slightly better hitting percentage coming in at .195.

The Beavers took two of the sets to extra points to come out with the victory.

"A hitting percentage like that isn't too bad early on in the season," Minot State head coach Travis Ward said. "We had a lot of aggressive misses which I'm ok with."

Mallory Sall (Jr., OH, Port Cotquitlam, British Columbia) led the way tallying a match-high 20 kills for the Beavers. She also recorded six digs.

Jen Dixon (Sr., OH, Brandon, Manitoba) recorded the second most kills for Minot State with a total of 10, and played well defensively reeling in 18 digs. Emily Byrne's 41 assists were a key to the Beavers success and she continues to creep closer and closer to the top spot on the all-time assists chart in Minot State history.

The Beavers carried their momentum from the morning into the afternoon when they faced off against Chadron State. After taking the first set easily 25-10, Chadron State came back and won the second set 25-22 but that's where their success ended. Minot State went on to win the next two sets, 25-20 and 25-22.

"We created some of our own problems but we found a way to get through them," Ward said.

Sall once again led the way in the kills department for the Beavers, connecting on 16. Dixon recorded 13 kills in the second match and recorded four service aces.

"Jen [Dixon] came out and had a difficult hitting performance in the first game," Ward said." But she came out in game two and played well."

The team boasted a better hitting percentage in the second game of the day coming in at .204. Tarah Dabovich (Jr., MH, Phoenix, Ariz.) helped the cause with a .278 percentage and seven kills of her own.

This is a huge confidence boost," Ward said. "We did a great job to perform in tough situations."

The Beavers will look for their success to continue tomorrow, Sept. 6, when they go head-to-head with tournament host MSU-Billings in their first match at 12:30 pm. Minot State closes out the tournament against familiar foe and rival University of Mary at 5:00 pm later on in the day.

For live updates and live stats, visit msubeavers.com