MINOT, N.D. – Back home for a second straight weekend, the Minot State volleyball team is poised to make a late-season surge.

The Beavers hit the court Friday night hosting Bemidji State at 6 p.m. in the MSU Dome in the "Battle of the Beavers," then Minot State entertains Minnesota Crookston on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Minot State then wraps up three straight home matches renewing an old in-state rivalry, hosting Dickinson State in non-conference action Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

All three are big matches for Minot State (1-17 overall, 0-11 NSIC), starting with Bemidji State as the host Beavers have played tough against their visiting namesake, going five sets last November on the road before falling.

Minot State looks to snap a six-match skid in the head-to-head series that has been very competitive over the years.

The visiting Beavers (5-12, 0-9) are led by the duo of senior outside hitter Ashley Crowl (178 kills) and graduate student and middle blocker Rylie Bjerklie (155 kills, 53 blocks) offensively, while senior setter Emily Wade has 522 assists, and junior libero Jada Wlodarczyk (240 digs).

Saturday, Minot State battles a Minnesota Crookston team they split with last season and who the Beavers have beaten 3 times in the last five meetings.

The Golden Eagles (4-13, 1-8) are led by sophomore outside hitter Maya Jones with 155 kills, one of four players with triple digits in kills this fall. Freshman setter Baily Teveldal runs the offense with 520 assists, and sophomore libero Kailee Waasdorp leads the defense with 338 digs.

After the NSIC weekend at home, the Beavers add one more match on the MSU Dome hardwood to the current stretch, battling the Blue Hawks (5-17, 1-6 NSAA) on Tuesday night. The 96^th meeting between the in-state rivals and former Dakota Athletic Conference foes, the match-up will be the first meeting since October of 2018 between the Blue Hawks and Beavers. Minot State has won the last six meetings, a win streak dating back to the fall of 2011.