A new season on the hardwood opens more than 2,000 miles away in The Last Frontier as the Minot State volleyball team begins the 2025 season at the Seawolf Invitational hosted by Alaska Anchorage.

Action begins with Minot State taking on Cal State San Marcos from the CCAA at 12:30 p.m. this Friday, September 5, then the Beavers battle Biola from the Pac West at 8 p.m. to wrap up their first day of play.

Minot State is back on the court Saturday, September 6, playing the Alaska schools from the GNAC, meeting Alaska Fairbanks at noon (Minot time), then host Alaska Anchorage at 5 p.m. to close out four matches to open the season.

This Weekend’s Opposition

The meeting is the first for Minot State against both the Cougars from San Marcos and the Eagles from Biola, who both were picked in the middle of the pack in their respective conference and come into this season after 9 wins, each, last fall.

Friday’s action will be the first matches for Minot State, Cal State San Marcos, and Biola.

Saturday, the Beavers take on the Alaska schools who are a combined 7-1 already this young season.

The Nanooks, from Fairbanks (3-1), have faced the Beavers once before, 10 years ago in a five-set thriller won by Minot State in Fairbanks. Alaska is led by 6-foot right-side Elena Guc and 5-10 setter Ainsley Smith, both seniors who were named to the Preseason All-GNAC Team. Guc leads the GNAC with 47 kills early in the season, and has 10 blocks, while Ainsley is No. 1 in the league with 6 service aces and No. 2 with 83 assists.

The meeting will be the first between Minot State and Alaska Anchorage (4-0), which is led by 5-11 senior outside hitter Tia Allen, who was named to the Preseason All-GNAC Team. Allen has 33 kills and 58 digs for the Seawolves this fall.

Top Minot State Returners

The Beavers return just a handful of players, led by seniors Paulina Kowalska and Jaina Macaulay, who saw the bulk of the playing time in 2024.

Kowalska is a 6-2 senior right side from Wroclaw, Poland, who recorded a team-best 209 kills in her second season with the Beavers, along with 108 digs and 64 blocks, second-most on the team.

Macaulay, a 5-6 setter from Clarkston, Michigan, led the Beavers’ 2-setter system with a team-leading 339 assists, giving her 1,144 in her 3-year Minot State career, while she added 164 digs last fall.

Key Newcomers

Leading the way as the Beavers’ Preseason Player to Watch is All-Conference outside hitter, Emily Willis. A 5-11 junior from McHenry County College, she pounded down 414 kills in two seasons and added 391 digs for the Scots.

She leads a large group of seasoned two-year and four-year college transfers who give Minot State experience and depth heading into the new season.

Some of the other newcomers to watch include local talent Maya Vibeto, a 5-4 libero and 2nd Team NJCAA All-American at Bismarck State who graduated from Our Redeemer’s Christian School, along with her Mystics teammates Caton Pearcy, a 5-10 junior outside hitter who had 499 kills and 701 digs in two seasons at Bismarck State, and Zoe Zarr, a 5-7 sophomore defensive specialist and Minot High product who had 157 digs last season for the Mystics.

Some of the other junior-college additions include Katelyn Onespot-Danforth, a 5-10 junior setter who had 915 career assists at Lower Columbia College, Olivia Murphy, a 6-1 junior setter who had 731 assists at Coffeyville, and Haley Saunders, a 5-4 junior libero who had 469 digs in two seasons of junior-college action.

The Beavers also added a few 4-year college transfers, including Logan Drennan, a 5-8 sophomore setter who had 241 assists in last season at NCAA Division II Southwest Baptist, and 5-10 junior outside hitter Jocelyn Boop, who played two seasons at the NAIA’s Governors State, and who is the younger sister of former Beaver Madelynn Boop.

The Season

Following the season-opening trip to Alaska, the Minot State volleyball team returns to the friendly confines of the MSU Dome to host the 2nd annual Live 1st International Bank Classic, Thursday and Friday, September 11-12, of Homecoming weekend.

The Beavers will play Montana State Billings at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, in their home debut, then host Manitoba at 7 p.m. on Thursday night. Minot State plays Black Hills State on Friday at 10 a.m., then wraps up the weekend hosting Brandon at 6 p.m. Friday evening.

Following the tournament, Minot State opens league play in arguably the toughest volleyball conference in the country as the Beavers play at No. 3-ranked St. Cloud State on Friday, September 19.

The Huskies are one of five NSIC teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 and are joined by Concordia, St. Paul, which is No. 13, Southwest Minnesota State, which starts the season No. 15, Wayne State, which is No. 21, and Northern State, which is No. 25.