CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team showed great resilience, battling back from down 2-0 to force a fifth set Fri., Sept. 21. However, the Golden Eagles ultimately fell short 3-2 (25-19, 25-14, 28-30, 21-25, 15-13) to Minot State University at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston, Minn.

The Golden Eagles rebounded after going down 2-0 in the match and put together crucial third and fourth sets to force a decisive fifth set. Minnesota Crookston held a 10-8 lead in the fifth set, but the Beavers were able to overcome the Golden Eagle advantage to take the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 2-12 (0-6 NSIC) with Friday's loss. Minot State improves to 8-7 (2-4 NSIC) with the win.

Key Players
Minnesota Crookston
Kaitlin Sikkink, 15 kills, .500 hitting pct.
Deaira Gresham, 11 kills, .179 hitting pct.
Porsha Porath, 8 kills, 17 digs
Sydney Kruisselbrink, 8 kills, 42 assists, 9 digs
Ali Schueler, 21 digs
Kaite Lienemann, 13 digs

Minot State
Shelby Spuller, 23 kills, .246 hitting pct.
Hayley Swain, 14 kills, .591 hitting pct.
Emily Falldorf, 11 kills, .185 hitting pct.
Kelsey Dewulf, 58 assists, 14 digs
Karli Koza, 29 digs
Shae Pedersen, 12 digs

The Golden Eagles hit .177 for the match with 57 kills and 26 errors. Minot State finished the match with 67 kills and 30 attack errors with a hitting percentage of .195. Defensively, Minnesota Crookston tallied 81 digs and seven blocks, while the Beavers finished with 87 digs and just one block.

Set One
Minot State jumped out to a 5-2 advantage in the first set following a Minnesota Crookston service error. The Beavers would move their lead out to 7-3 with a Shelby Spuller kill. The Golden Eagles were able to make up ground and pull within 7-6 on a Spuller attack error. Minot State countered and widened their lead back out to 18-10 with a Katie Dufner kill. Minnesota Crookston did not give in as they came back to cut the deficit to 21-18 with a crucial kill from Kaitlin Sikkink (R-Jr., MH, St. Charles, Minn.). Minot State would be able to fend off the Golden Eagles down the stretch as they took four of the last five points to take the set 25-19.

Set Two
Minot State was again able to get ahead early on as they held a 13-5 lead after a Spuller kill. Minnesota Crookston was able to cut the deficit down to 16-10 guided by a Porsha Porath (Fr., OH, Windom, Minn.) service ace. The Golden Eagles came within five points at 19-14 with a block assist from Callie Schapekahm (Sr., MH, Eagan, Minn.) and Lauren Wallace (R-Fr., OH, Bloomington, Minn.). However that was as close as Minnesota Crookston would get in the frame as the Beavers won the last six points to win the set 25-14 and take the 2-0 lead on the Golden Eagles.

Set Three
Minnesota Crookston responded after struggling down the stretch in the first two sets. The Golden Eagles rocketed out to an 11-2 lead paced by six Minot State attack errors and kills from Deaira Gresham (So., OH, Maplewood, Minn.) and Sydney Kruisselbrink (So.,S, Rochester, Minn.). Minot State made their move in the set after a rough start, as they took 13 of the next 17 points to knot the match up at 15-15 on a Spuller kill. Minnesota Crookston took the lead back with back-to-back points catapulted by a Sikkink kill. Minot State would not go away though as they overtook the Golden Eagles 19-18 on a Minnesota Crookston service error. Minot State moved their lead out to 22-19 on a Shae Pedersen service ace. The Golden Eagles countered with their backs against the wall as they took a 26-25 advantage on a Gresham kill after taking seven of the next 10 points. The two NSIC foes would trade points until Minnesota Crookston was able to string together consecutive points with a service error and an attack error by the Beavers as they won the frame 30-28 to cut the lead for Minot State to 2-1.

Set Four
The Beavers took an early 3-1 lead in the fourth set. Minnesota Crookston came back and overtook Minot State to take an 8-5 lead as Kruisselbrink put down a kill. The Beavers knotted the set up 8-8 on a Golden Eagle attack error. Minnesota Crookston responded and took the 13-10 advantage following a Sikkink kill. The Beavers pulled within a point at 14-13 with a Karli Koza service ace. Minnesota Crookston held off Minot State as they took six of the next seven points to push the advantage out to 20-14 after a Beaver attack error. The Golden Eagles would ride the momentum of the 6-1 run as they took the set 25-21 on a Sikkink kill to knot the match up 2-2.

Set Five
The Golden Eagles would build off the momentum of taking the third and fourth sets as they jetted out to 6-2 lead in the final frame. Minot State cut the lead down to 8-7 with a Spuller kill. The Golden Eagles continued to lead the decisive fifth set after a Hannah Stark kill moved the set to 10-8. Minot State would overtake the Golden Eagles as they won seven of the final 10 points to win the frame 15-13 with an Emily Falldorf kill. The Beavers took the match 3-2 after the decisive fifth set win.

The Golden Eagles return to the Lysaker Gymnasium court Sat., Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. against University of Mary.