9/1/2010 - VOLLEYBALL BSU Volleyball opens 2010 season at Blue Hawk Tournament on Friday and Saturday

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TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

DATES: Sept. 3 and Sept. 4

LOCATION: Dickinson, N.D.

HOST: Dickinson State University

ARENA: Scott Gymnasium

COMPETING TEAMS: Black Hills State (NAIA, Dakota Athletic Conference), Dickinson State (NAIA, Dakota Athletic Conference), Montana State-Northern (NAIA, Frontier Conference)

MULTIMEDIA: Games with Dickinson State (Sept. 3, 7 p.m. and Sept. 4, 4 p.m., can be watched online by clicking here

SCHEDULE:

SEPT. 3 - 3:00 P.M. - Bemidji State vs. Montana State-Northern

SEPT. 3 - 7:00 P.M. - Bemidji State at Dickinson State

SEPT. 4 - 12:00 P.M. - Bemidji State vs. Black Hills State

SEPT. 4 - 4:00 P.M. - Bemidji State at Dickinson State

BLUE HAWK TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The Bemidji State volleyball team will open the 2010 campaign this weekend at the Blue Hawk Tournament in Dickinson, N.D. The four matches in Dickinson will serve as the opening test for new head coach Wayne Chadwick. An assistant for the last three years at the University of Tulsa, Chadwick brings a strong volleyball pedigree to Northern Minnesota as the Beavers prepare to open the 2010 season.

BSU PLAYERS TO WATCH

-Nicole Olson- Senior Middle Blocker

Nicole Olson returns to BSU for her senior season in 2010. The Baudette, Minn., native was named as a Player to Watch prior to the start of the season by Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference coaches. Olson, averaged a team-leading 3.00 kills per game as a junior. Olson will team with the three other seniors to help guide the Beavers in Coach Chadwick’s first season.

-Brie Groskreutz- Senior Libero

Brie Groskreutz led the Beavers with 534 digs in 2009. She returns as the Beavers’ most reliable back row player heading into her senior season. Groskreutz was a three-time NSIC Defensive Player of the Week last season for the Beavers. BSU RECORD WATCH Several records are in danger of being broken in the first week of play for the Beavers. Brie Groskreutz is just nine digs shy of becoming the school’s career leader in the category. Fellow senior Nicole Olson is inching closer to the top 10 in five different categories. Olson needs 10 kills, 12 block assists, 15 solo blocks, 19 total blocks and 82 kill attempts.

MCCANNELL TAKES OVER AT SETTER

Look for junior Jessi-Beth McCannell to be an X-Factor for Coach Chadwick’s BSU squad this season. The native of Brandon, Manitoba will be looked at to step up at the setter position replacing Courtney Bitter. McCannell showed she can fill the role admirably last season in her one appearance at setter. She exploded for a career-high 46 assists, while adding a season-high 13 digs for her first career double-double in the final contest of the season against Upper Iowa.

CHADWICK’S DEBUT

Wayne Chadwick will coach his first game for the BSU Beavers on Friday against Montana State-Northern. BSU coaches are a combined 6-6 in their first games as head coach. Laurie Bitter, the last coach to make her debut as Bemidji State’s head boss, led the Beavers to a victory on Aug. 31, 2007 in her debut over Valley City State.

SEASON OPENER

Bemidji State is a combined 25-16 in season openers dating back to the program’s first season in 1969. Last year, the Beavers lost their opening game in a three-set defeat at the hands of sixth-ranked Nebraska-Kearney at UNK’s home tournament

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

• MONTANA STATE-NORTHERN SKYLIGHTS

HEAD COACH: BILL HUEBSCH

TOP RETURNEE: MH KAYLEE BOSSERT, SR.

Montana State-Northern finished the 2009 season with a 7-14 overall mark and were 4-10 in Frontier Conference play. The Skylights come into the tournament with a 1-1 record on the 2010 season after going 1-1 on Aug. 19, with a win over Jamestown College and a loss to Concordia University. Montana State-Northern is led by returning Frontier Conference Second Team performer Kaylee Bossert, a senior from Calgary, Alberta. This weekend’s meeting between the Skylights and Beavers will be the first in the history of both programs.

• BLACK HILLS STATE YELLOW JACKETS

HEAD COACH: JHETT ALBERS

TOP RETURNEE: OH MAGGIE O’NEILL, SR.

Black Hills State comes into this weekend’s action with a 3-6 mark on the season. The Yellow Jackets are on a three-match win streak after picking up three victories at the Red Raider Classic over Briar Cliff, Dakota Wesleyan and Oklahoma Baptist. Senior Outside Hitter Maggie O’Neill, an All-Dakota Athletic Conference First Team selection in 2008 and 2009, returns to lead Black Hills State in 2010. O’Neill averaged 2.81 kills and 3.93 digs per game during her junior season. The series between the two schools is even at 1-1. Black Hills State and Bemidji State last met on Sept. 31, 2007.

• DICKINSON STATE BLUE HAWKS

HEAD COACH: RYAN PLATT

TOP RETURNEES: S WHITLEY ABRAHAMSON, JR.

MB KAREN ALMEIDA, SR.

Dickinson State comes into the weekend with a 1-7 mark on the season. So far this season, the Blue Hawks have been led by freshman setter Kristina Eric, who has 85 assists and junior outside hitter Ruth Johnson, who comes in with a team-leading 36 kills. Eric and Johnson were both honored at the start of the week by the Dakota Athletic Conference. Eric was named the conference's setter of the week, while Johnson was selected as the hitter of the week. The Blue Hawks lead the all-time series 0-2. They last played the Beavers on Sept. 5, 2003.

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