MADISON, S.D. -- The Bellevue University volleyball team is in Madison, S.D. for their first-ever North Star Athletic Association Tournament. The Bruins, the third seed in the South Division, plays Dakota State, the second seed in the South Division on Saturday at 3 p.m. in a quarterfinal match.

Bellevue (21-16, 3-3 NSAA) could be seen as struggling a bit down the stretch, going 9-7 since the calendar turned to October, however, that wouldn't tell the whole story. The Bruins have been playing a difficult portion of their schedule with five matches against ranked teams, one against an NCAA Division II powerhouse, and several others against teams that are only just now being recognized as teams worth of Coaches' Poll votes.

Dakota State (20-13, 10-3 NSAA) has won seven of their last eight matches, starting with a victory over Bellevue, on their way to claiming the number two seed in the South Division. The Trojans are tough at home but had to survive a furious BU rally last time the two sides met.

The Series:

Bellevue leads the all-time series 5-1 since detailed records became available (c. 1994). The Bruins won each of those five matches without surrendering a set but none took place on Dakota State's home floor.

Last Meeting:

Bellevue lost a pair of tight sets to open the match before routing Dakota State to force a decisive fifth set but the Trojans eked out a 15-12 win. Mikaylah Gillespie, Rachel Wald, and Marylyn Mozena each reached double-figure kills for the Bruins and Beth Walker recorded a double-double.

Carly Rozell led the Trojans with 17 kills and Chelsey Davis contributed a match-high 28 digs for Dakota State who was out-played everywhere on the stat sheet but survived for the win.

For the full recap: http://bubruins.com/sports/wvball/2015-16/releases/20151010plodj7

(RV) Bellevue Notes:             21-16 (3-3 NSAA)      9-1 Home        4-5 Away        8-10 Neutral

• Bruins receiving votes in Tachikara-NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll
• Bruins ranked 30^th in the Second Modified RPI
• Bruins .900 win percentage at home was their best since 2012 (17-1, .944)
• Beth Walker ranks 3^rd nationally in Total Assists (1,265)
• Taylor Holz ranks 7^th nationally in Total Digs (647)
• Mikaylah Gillespie ranks 15^th nationally in Total Blocks (126)
• Rachel Wald ranks 24^th nationally in Total Kills (391)
• Shayla Scanlan ranks 27^th nationally in Total Blocks (112)
• Beth Walker ranks 40^th nationally in Assists per Game (9.30)
• Taylor Holz ranks 47^th nationally in Digs per Game (4.76)
• Bellevue ranks 5^th nationally in Total Assists (1,564)
• Bellevue ranks 7^th nationally in Total Kills (1,682)
• Bellevue ranks 9^th nationally in Total Blocks (288)
• Bellevue ranks 15^th nationally in Total Digs (2,226)
• Bellevue ranks 34^th nationally in Blocks per Game (2.12)
• Bellevue ranks 42^nd nationally in Assists per Game (11.50)
• Bellevue ranks 42^nd nationally in Digs per Game (16.37)
• Bellevue ranks 49^th nationally in Kills per Game (12.37)

10+ Kill Leaders:

• Rachel Wald (20), Shayla Scanlan (18), Mikaylah Gillespie (8), Beth Walker (6), Marylyn Mozena (5), Lauren Colpitts (3), Hope Lambrecht (1)

10+ Digs Leaders:

• Taylor Holz (31), Beth Walker (22), Erin Warren (10), Victoria Bowens (7), Rachel Wald (6), Addison Smith (5), Marylyn Mozena (2)

Double-Double Leaders:

• Beth Walker (26), Rachel Wald (4), Marylyn Mozena (1)

Triple-Doubles:

• Beth Walker (Sept. 11, vs. Ottawa;  15 kills, 41 assists, 13 digs)
• Beth Walker (Oct. 3, vs. Mount Mercy; 10 kills, 43 assists, 13 digs)

Dakota State Notes:              20-13 (10-3 NSAA)    8-2 Home        6-8 Away        6-3 Neutral

• Chelsey Davis ranks 13^th nationally in Total Digs (654)
• Tessa Weeldreyer ranks 15^th nationally in Total Blocks (135)
• Tessa Weeldreyer ranks 26^th nationally in Blocks per Game (1.09)
• Chelsey Davis ranks 27^th nationally in Digs per Game (5.23)
• Carly Rozell ranks 43^rd nationally in Total Kills (382)
• Dakota State ranks 18^th nationally in Total Digs (2,159)
• Dakota State ranks 24^th nationally in Digs per Game (17.27)
• Dakota State ranks 33^rd nationally in Total Blocks (246.5)
• Dakota State ranks 49^th nationally in Total Kills (1,454)

Players to Watch:

Bellevue –

• Sr. S Beth Walker (1265 assists, 9.30 assists/set, 226 kills, .308 hitting percentage, 392 digs)
• So. OH Rachel Wald (391 kills, 3.03 kills/set, 191 digs)
• So. L Taylor Holz (647 digs, 4.76 digs/set)
• Fr. OH Shayla Scanlan (352 kills, 2.59 kills/set, .229 hitting percentage, 107 blocks)

Dakota State –

• Chelsey Davis (20 Aces, 654 digs, 5.23 digs/set)
• Tessa Weeldreyer (267 kills, .230 hitting percentage, 135 blocks, 1.09 blocks/set)
• Carly Rozell (382 kills, 3.06 kills/set, 289 digs, 2.31 digs/set)

Bellevue vs Ranked Teams (5-9):

Aug. 20---vs #23 Lewis-Clark State---W, 3-1 (Biola Tournament)

Aug. 21---vs #16 Southern Oregon---L, 0-3 (Biola Tournament)

Aug. 21---vs (RV) Westmont---L, 0-3 (Biola Tournament)

Aug. 25---at (RV) Concordia---L, 1-3

Aug. 28---at #22 Hastings---L, 2-3

Sept. 4---#15 MADONNA---W, 3-2 (BU Labor Day Classic)

Sept. 11---vs. #12 Northwestern---L, 2-3 (Baker Tournament)

Sept. 19---vs. (RV) Cornerstone---L, 0-3 (Olivet Nazarene Invite)

Sept. 28---#24 DOANE---W, 3-0

Oct. 16---vs. (RV) Jamestown *---L, 1-3 (Grand View Tournament)

Oct. 16---at (RV) Olivet Nazarene---W, 3-0 (Grand View Tournament)

Oct. 17---vs. #10 Evangel---W, 3-1 (Grand View Tournament)

Oct. 24---#19 MidAMERICA NAZ.---L, 0-3

Oct. 29---at #4 Viterbo *---L, 0-3

What's Next?:

The winner of this match advances to next weekend's final site for the semi-finals at the site of the highest remaining seed. Pairings will be determined after the conclusion of all of Saturday's quarterfinal matches. Semifinal matches will be played at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14 and the Championship Match will be played at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15.