MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University looked good in set 1, taking a 25-20 win over rival University of Mary.

But the Beavers couldn't sustain the momentum as the Marauders rallied for a 3-1 win in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball Tuesday at the MSU Dome.

"We came out in game 1 not playing with any of fear. We were confident and did our job and didn't play with any fear," MSU head coach Ben Kaszeta said. "We weren't scared to succeed and just played – played hard. But after that first set, we said, 'hey, we can win this match, we can get this weight off our shoulders' and we tightened up."

The Beavers (5-16 overall, 0-12 NSIC) went from hitting a great .484 in set 1 to .000 in both sets 2 and 3. MSU had just 11 kills between sets 2 and 3 after collecting 18 in set 1.

"Give Mary credit, they came out more aggressive and took us out of our comfort zone," Kaszeta said. "They definitely rose to the occasion. And we are still learning. We had our second game in a row without a kid hitting negative and that's good, we aren't as up and down, but we still seem to get nervous after the first set. We have to learn how to win."

U-Mary (9-12, 4-8) was much steadier hitting outside a nine-error set 3. The Marauders finished with 16 kills in set 1, 17 in each of the next two and 13 in set 4 while hitting .353 for the match. Lauren Randall finished with 20 kills on 50 swings to lead UM, while Thayna Silva added 17 kills and just three errors.

MSU countered with 13 kills from freshman Shelby Spuller, who hit .222 in the match. Emily Falldorf added nine, Janelle Nagy eight and Hayley Swain seven for the Beavers.

"We made an adjustment after the second set and moved Emily outside and that bothered them and evened it up a little," Kaszeta said.

Kelsey Dewulf finished with a team-high 31 assists, while Cindy Pelo added 17 digs to pace the defense. Swain led MSU with five block assists an added two service aces for the Beavers.

The task won't get much taller than Friday as No. 3 ranked Concordia-St. Paul comes to the Dome for a 7 p.m. NSIC matchup and the Beavers finish off the weekend with a 6 p.m. match with Minnesota State Saturday.

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.