Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Box Scores: Linfield | Martin Luther 

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ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Day one of the 2012 Bethel University Volleyball Invitational was highly favorable for the Royals, as BU finished 2-0 after a pair of 3-1 victories over Linfield and Martin Luther. Bethel dropped the third game in each match Friday, but managed to rally back in the fourth to finish the day undefeated.
 
The Royals used a 10-4 run in the opening set to control the tempo early, however, Linfield battled back to take a 24-23 lead late. Bethel managed to take three consecutive points behind a pair of blocks by Amy Baumetz (Sr., Three Lakes, Wis.) and Nicole Deberry (Fr., Libertyville, Ill.), though, awarding the Royals with a triumph in game one.
 
Bethel captured a 25-19 victory in the second set before falling 23-25 in the third. Nevertheless, BU made magic again in the fourth frame, churning out eight straight points that enabled the Royals to capture a 25-15 win in set four, as well as a 3-1 victory in the match.


The two squads exchanged 17 lead changes and 30 ties during the entire match. The BU netters owned an advantage at the net, owning a team attacking percentage of .210 opposed to Linfield's .087.
 
“Linfield was a very good opponent,” said head coach Gretchen Hunt. “One of the most notable components to their team was their ability to dig our attacks, which kept our match competitive throughout the four games.
 
Cierra Nickel (So., Sanborn, Minn.) finished the contest with a career-high 49 assists. Nickel fed Caitie Helle (Sr., Onamia, Minn.), Amy Baumetz, and Nicole Ackatz (Jr., Elkhorn, Wis.), who each finished with double-digit kills. Val Smith (Sr., Alexandria, Minn.) was also sensational from the back row, hustling to 32 digs throughout the four games.
 
The Royals muscled out two quick sets against Martin Luther in the very next match, defeating the Knights 25-14 and 25-18. Yet, MLC stayed competitive and stole the third set from Bethel behind a .346 team attacking percentage. Rebecca Englebrecht was a major reason for Martin Luther's success, as she finished the dual with 14 kills. BU bounced back quickly in the fourth set, conquering both the set and the match with the 25-15 defeat over the Knights.

One of the biggest contributions to Bethel's success against MLC was the play of Rachel Bloom (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.), who finished the match with seven serving aces.
 
Coach Hunt noted, “Rachel's aggressive serves tonight applied a great deal of pressure to the Knights and helped our squad control the majority of the match. Beyond serving, our ability to pass the ball was exceptionally good tonight as well.”
 
Cierra Nickel continued to play well, totaling 41 assists throughout the second competition. Meanwhile, Amy Baumetz ended with 12 kills and a .476 attacking percentage. Nicole Ackatz also managed 10 kills in Bethel's second match of the evening.
 
The Royals finished with a .191 attacking percentage as a team, but calculated a .333 and .423 attacking percentage in the first and second set, respectively.
 
Bethel takes on Central College Saturday at noon, followed by a matchup against Northland College. Central defeated Northland Friday, before falling to MIAC foe, Carleton 3-2 – after leading 2-0. Northland was defeated by Carleton in straight sets.