Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - The Royals gave everything they could muster Saturday afternoon against the Wildcats, only to come up short in the match.  After a hard fought first set, Bethel came out with the short end of the stick falling by a score of 23-25. Nicole Wriedt (So., Pewaukee, Wis.) collected 4 of her 13 kills in the match during the first set.

The Royals looked to gain the edge over the Wildcats in the second set, only to fall short again by a score of 20-25. Bethel inched closer, but St Kate's never gave up the lead as they went on two four point runs late in the set to give them the victory. 

The third set began similar to both the first and second sets with the Wildcats jumping out to an early lead.  However, the Royals came storming back to finally overtake the Wildcats at the 20 point mark. Bethel would go on to take the set 25-22 and force a fourth set in the match.

Bethel used their momentum from the third set as they jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set.  The two teams battled back and forth with St. Kate's finally gaining the lead late in the set and never looked back. The Wildcats would go on to take the fourth set 20-25 and win the match.

Nicole Wriedt led the Royals in kills with 13, while Kelly Otto (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) and Brianna Falck (Jr., DeForest, Wis.) also contributed double-digit kill totals collecting 12 and 10 a piece. Wriedt, Otto, and Falck also had 3 block assists each.  Betsy Naatjes (Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) led the Royals in assists, collecting 47 of the 50 total in the match.

With the win, St. Kate's moves to 4-2 in the MIAC while the Royals are now 0-6 in conference with an overall record of 7-13.  Bethel continues play on Wednesday travelling to St. Peter, Minnesota to take on conference opponent Gustavus Adolphus College.