BISMARCK, N.D. — Bismarck State College dropped its conference home opener Friday night, falling in straight sets to No. 3-ranked Bellevue (Neb.), 25-20, 25-18, 25-18 at the BSC Armory.

The Mystics (2-4, 0-2) battled in front of a full Armory, but the Bruins (5-1, 1-0) proved efficient on offense, hitting .352 as a team while holding BSC to a .188 percentage.

Reese Duchsherer led the Mystics with six kills and seven digs, while Emerson Carufel added six kills on .333 hitting. McKenna Brendel chipped in five kills, and Chelsa Krom was strong at the net with five kills and a .455 hitting clip. Setter Delaney Deschamp paced the offense with 12 assists, while libero Piper Harris anchored the defense with 14 digs.

Despite the offensive push, Bellevue controlled the pace behind standout performances from Kealy Kiviniemi, who recorded 13 kills on a .435 hitting percentage, and Eve Fountain, who added 10 kills and 15 digs.

BSC stayed close throughout the opening set and pulled within 20-19 thanks to back-to-back balls off the ceiling misplayed by the Bruins, bringing the energy out of the Mystic student-section. Bellevue rallied and closed that set on a 5-1 run. In the second, the Mystics again rallied to even the score midway through before the Bruins surged late. The third set saw Bellevue capitalize on BSC errors to complete the sweep.

The Mystics return to action Saturday as they host No. 24 Dakota State in Frontier Conference play.