WHITEWATER, Wis.—Bethel University's volleyball team won its fifth contest in the last six matches Friday with a 3-1 (16-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-17) win over Wisconsin Lutheran College in the UW-Whitewater Invitational. Following the victory, the Royals dropped a 0-3 (15-25, 26-28, 18-25) affair to the University of Northwestern—a team they beat 3-0 in the opening weekend.

Carlee Hoppe and Nicole Ackatz led Bethel's squad in the opening victory Friday with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Hoppe swung for .297, while Ackatz went for .265 and four blocks. Meanwhile, Callie McKown totaled 11 kills and a hitting mark of .267. 

Cierra Nickel and Ashlyn Hucky finished the competition with 20 and 19 assists, while three players tallied double-digit digs. Kali Johnson led all Royals with 16 digs, while Hoppe and Hannah Grow each had 14.

The Royals struggled to take a set against the Eagles in the final match of the day, as Bethel got to 26-28 in the second – but it wasn't enough down the stretch.

Carlee Hoppe was exceptional in the nonconference action, finishing the match with 19 kills and a .415 attacking percentage. In addition to Hoppe's performance, Nicole Ackatz went for 11 kills and Anna Bernstetter finished with four kills and three blocks.

Kali Johnson and Hannah Grow each managed double-digit digs with 11 and 10, respectively, while Ashlyn Hucky finished as the team leader in assists with 25.

With Friday's split, the Royals are now 6-4 on the season. Bethel will face Millikan University and UW-Whitewater Saturday afternoon at noon and 2 p.m. Live stats will be available for both matches Saturday.