Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - Facing the same Saint Benedict team that made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA national tournament last season, the Bethel Royals were unable to come away with a victory, dropping all three sets at the Robertson Center. The 20th-ranked Blazers did not graduate a single player from last year's team and they put pressure on the Royals from the first point on.

Bethel came out with decent intensity, but it faded midway through the first set, as they were never able to make a run, falling 25-10. However, in the second set, they found some momentum, closing within two points. The Royals fought hard throughout the set, losing on a disputed out-call, 25-22. The third set was competitive once again, until the Blazers scored six consecutive points, putting themselves up 17-9. The Royals made a valiant effort, led by Brianna Falck's (Jr., DeForest, Wis.) four kills in the final set, but were unable to catch-up, dropping the third and final set, 25-17.

"Once our intensity got up, we played well," said Falck, "but we had a lot of inconsistency and they covered us well."

The Royals were blocked six times by Saint Benedict and committed 24 errors.

"We made too many unforced errors," said Head Coach Gretchen Hunt, "they aren't easy plays, but we caused our own problems."

Falck was the Royals top scorer with 8.5 points on eight kills and one block assist, while Nicole Wriedt (So., Pewaukee, Wis) and Kelly Otto (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) each had 7.5 points. Betsy Naatjes (Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) contributed 26 of Bethel's 28 assists.

Kayli Schumacher and Calleigh Brown led the Blazers with 10.5 points each.

After the loss, Coach Hunt encouraged the team to learn from their mistakes but not to hold on for too long. "We have a lot of kids whose strength is positivity," said Hunt, "tomorrow those kids need to take over."

Bethel now has a 5-7 (0-2) record and the Blazers improve to 11-4 (2-0). Hoping to bounce back, the Royals host Carleton this Friday, starting at 7 p.m.