MINOT, N.D. – Twice the Minot State University volleyball team was trailing in sets won in its match against Mary. Twice the Beavers were able to tie the series. In the fifth set, however, they were unable to use that momentum to secure the victory.

When the two teams switched sides in the final set MSU led 8-6. After being outscored by the Marauders 9-4 the Beavers left the court with their third conference loss coming at home with 431 in attendance.

"We let too many of those opportunities slip out of our grasp," said Ben Kaszeta. "Something we have to learn to finish. We have to learn to believe in ourselves more, we have to learn to finish and put things away."

Opportunities were something Minot State (3-7, 0-3) was able to take advantage at times in the five sets (21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-15, 12-15), but not when the games got close. In the two sets won against Mary (6-6, 1-2) there were differences in how the team performed overall.

"We were way more aggressive in those two sets," Kaszeta said. "We passed and served better, we were more aggressive with our swings and we were a lot more aggressive defensively. When we relaxed or we got timid or we got scared to make a mistake the game got away from us."

Being aggressive is something senior Mallory Sall (OH, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) had taken upon herself after falling in the first set. With only one kill in the first set Sall finished with 23 kills, just seven shy of her career record when she tallied 30 kills in her freshman season. Sall also helped the team defensively with 11 digs.

There were four Beavers with double digit marks in the digs category including freshman Logan Desorcy (L, St. Andrews, Manitoba) who led the team with 19.

Minot State will host two more home games this week against Bemidji State on September 25 at 7 p.m. and Minnesota Crookston on Sept. 26 at 3 p.m.

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.