Central Box Score
St. Catherine Box Score
Loras Box Score

PELLA, Iowa - Bethel's volleyball team took to the road this weekend to play three matches in the Central Classic, hosted by Central College. Despite getting shutout 3-0 by the hosting Dutch in the first match, the Royals rebounded to win their next two matches 3-2 and 3-1 over St. Catherine and Loras, respectively.

On Friday night, Bethel pushed two of the three sets into extra points, but still came out on the short end (26-28, 21-25, and 27-29). Amy Werner (Jr., Three Rivers, Wis.) led the Royals with 13 kills and a block assist, while Nicole Wriedt (Sr., Pewaukee, Wis.) and Caitie Helle (Jr., Onamia) each had 11 points total. Kate Smith (Sr., Arden Hills, Minn.) recorded 34 assists, while Valerie Smith had 26 digs.

A number of different Dutch contributed to their cause, led by Caitlin Kouba, who had 11 kills. Three other Central hitters had eight kills.

Regrouped and refocused, Bethel took on a familiar foe on Saturday morning in St. Catherine. Bethel rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win 3-2 (19-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 17-15) behind strong performances from Helle and Werner, as well as Kelly Van Wyk (Fr., Sheldon, Iowa), who had 11 points on nine kills and four block assists. 

Brittni Wangerin  was all over the floor for the Wildcats with 23 kills and 20 digs as St. Catherine's key player.

Finally, Bethel closed out the tournament with a 3-1 win over Loras. Statistics are unavailable at this time.

The Royals improve their season record to 13-6 and return to Minnesota to focus on conference play for the next three matches. Bethel will be on the road for all three, starting with a match against Gustavus on Friday night at 7 p.m. in St. Peter, Minn.