Box Score MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State University volleyball team picked the right time to break out of a preseason funk by defeating rival University of Mary in the Beavers' Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener.

"It's a huge confidence booster for all of us to know that we can compete with any team in this conference," senior Jen Dixon (OH, Brandon, Manitoba) said. "If we go point for point and stay consistent, which we did, we'll be successful."

The Beavers looked sharp right from the start getting out to an early 8-4 lead. The Marauders did their best to keep things interesting tying the set up at nine, but the Beavers went on another run of their own making the score 21-15 and eventually winning the first set 25-18.

Dixon and Mallory Sall (Jr., OH, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) both had five kills in the first set for the Beavers.

Sall missed the previous four games with a concussion but showed no signs of rust Tuesday night. The junior finished with 20 kills and recorded a .409 hitting percentage.

"The biggest thing for me is just being confident," Sall said. "I have to believe in what I can do and when I do that, I'm good."

The second set proved to be much of the same for the Beavers as they carried their momentum from the first set into the second. Minot State went on to win the second set with ease by a score of 25-13.

The Marauders didn't go away without a fight, though. In a back-and-forth third set, Mary came out on top winning 25-23, but their success ended shortly thereafter.

In the fourth and final set that was filled with energy from both the teams and the fans, the Beavers found a way to get out of Bismarck victorious.

"I thought we did a good job putting pressure on them," head coach Travis Ward said. "We kind of let them stay in the match with some of our mistakes, but they did a nice job pushing back—a lot of credit goes to them."

The Beavers recorded a hitting percentage of .201 compared to U-Mary's .110.

Minot State will travel to Winona State and Upper Iowa this upcoming weekend before they head home for their first home game of the season on Friday, Sept. 26.
Ward hopes to play in an environment at the MSU Dome that was on display tonight in Bismarck.

"I think as we get people out to watch our matches, they'll learn we're fun to watch," he said. "There's reason to watch. It's a blast."