Graduate libero Kaylyn Madison etched her name into the top 10 echelon in all-time digs in University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball history on Thursday. 

Madison scraped up her the second dig of the night in the opening set of the Bulldogs' five-set triumph (25-18, 25-21, 19-25, 22-25, 15-12) over Bemidji State University to move into sole possession of tenth in digs in program history at the BSU Gymnasium in Bemidji, Minn. The Eagan, Minn., native came into tonight's bout one dig shy of matching Callie Zwettler (2001-04) for tenth with 1,265 digs after a dominating 30-dig performance in her last go-around. 

The defensive effort from Madison and company stifled the Beavers into 20 hitting errors and a .186 hitting percentage for the match. Madison gathered 25 of the team's 83 defensive stops to lead all players as 12 different Bulldogs collected a dig. 

The No. 15-ranked UMD chopped down a brief two-match skid to pick up its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory. Bemidji State (5-4, 0-1 NSIC) had its home opener and first league match wasted as the Bulldogs (8-2, 1-2 NSIC) endured their third consecutive five-set match to stockpile their 37th straight victory over the Beavers.

Bemidji State struggled against the UMD serve and it affected them on the attacking end. UMD amassed a 10 aces including a six in the opening frame. Senior defensive specialist Emma Kujawa brought her best knuckleball as she alone tallied a career-best five aces, three of which was in the first set. The Onalaska, Wis., native also produced her best outing of her career from a defensive standpoint, notching 13 digs.

The setting duo of senior Maddi Kealy and freshman Ava Jones propelled the Bulldog offense to 65 kills by eight different players. Jones had 24 assists while Kealy led UMD with 30 assists and tacked on 13 digs for her third double-double. Graduate outside hitter Cianna Selbitschka tallied her third double-double in the last four matches, and fifth overall. The North Branch, Minn., native terminated 20 balls and scooped up 10 digs as she hit a team-high .327 among the main attackers. Her consistency was needed as UMD dumped 30 errors and hit .185, winning the match despite being outhit by the persistent Beavers.

Bemidji State dropped the first two sets but rallied to win sets three and four to force a winner-take-all fifth. The Bulldogs accounted for 17 errors in the two sets they gave back, but found their rhythm when they needed it the most. After spotting BSU an insurmountable 6-0 lead in the fourth, UMD jumped out this time to a quick 3-0 advantage. Sophomore middle blocker Kylie Broten spun a fastball around the Beaver block to take a 8-6 lead to trade sides. After the quick switch UMD bounced three straight including a tactical tip by senior right side hitter Samantha Paulsen that dropped in-between three diving Beavers. From that point, the active Bulldog kill leader Selbitschka went into overdrive slamming home the final three kills to settle the match. 

Ava Athman had a team-high 13 kills for BSU. Jada Wlodarczyk had 21 digs in the loss for the Beavers, who host No. 12 St. Cloud State University Saturday. 

UMD will conclude its non-conference slate as it pays a visit to St. Cloud State for a top-15 battle on Tuesday, Oct.1. The battle for the top dog will begin at 6:00 p.m. at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn.