BOX SCORE

SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The Royals suffered a 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 28-26) defeat Thursday night at the hands of St. Thomas, who in turn escorted Bethel out of the MIAC tournament. Despite being tied late in both the first and third sets of the tournament semi-finals BU was never able to overcome the Tommie attack, thus falling in three straight sets. Now Bethel will wait patiently to see if its regular and post-season accomplishments were able to draw enough attention to make it into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

In the early going BU claimed the 4-2 lead, as Nicole Wriedt (Sr., Pewaukee, Wis.) slammed a kill for the Royals followed by a block at the net by Amy Werner (Jr., Three Lakes, Wis.) and Haley Toter (Sr., Park Ridge, Ill.). UST would fight back to even the score and pull ahead to a 9-6 lead. Head Coach Gretchen Hunt utilized one of two timeouts in the set shifting the momentum back in BU's favor, as Bethel pulled ahead of the Tommies 14-13. Nicole Ackatz (So., Elkhorn, Wis.) posted back-to-back kills for the Royals, followed by two Werner attacks and a kill from senior setter Kate Smith (Sr., Arden Hills, Minn.) in BU's 8-4 run. From there St. Thomas captured four straight points to go ahead 17-14. Wriedt and Werner continued to be a force at the net, helping the Royals take the lead one more time at 21-20. Yet the Tommies rattled off a 5-1 run that ended the highly important first set in UST's favor.

The second set was a dog fight for the first ten points. Caite Helle (Jr., Onamia, Minn.) landed a Smith assist on the Tommie side of the court to make the score 9-8 in favor of the hosting team. From there, though, UST posted a 10-1 run that was to tall to overcome. BU's second timeout of the set proved to be a short-term buffer as the Royals tallied its own 6-2 run, making the score 21-15. It wouldn't be enough, however, as Bethel fell in the second 25-17.

BU looked to be in danger early on in set three when St. Thomas took a 7-3 lead, but Hunt took a timeout that would settle the Royals enough to help them tie the set at eight. From that point on neither team led by more than one the rest of the set until St. Thomas broke the mold when taking hold of the 21-18 advantage. Bethel took another critical timeout, which helped the Royals come back to tie the third at 23 a-piece. BU had two chances to extend the match and win the set as it led the Tommies 25-24 and 26-25, but both times St. Thomas overcame the deficit and in the end ousted Bethel 28-26.

Amy Werner led BU throughout the night with 12 total attacks. Werner was also aided by another Wisconsin-native Nicole Wriedt, who fired 11 kills towards the Tommie defense. Each was assisted by Kate Smith, who recorded 24 sets throughout the three frames. Furthermore, Valerie Smith (Jr., Alexandria, Minn.) led all players in digs with 22.

WIth the loss the Royals end its regular season combined with its MIAC tournament with a 22-9 (8-3 MIAC) record. Bethel continues to believe that its midseason winning streak and strong performances against ranked opponents gives them a chance to receive an at-large bid for the NCAA Division III Tournament.