Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—The Bethel University volleyball team welcomed conference foe Saint Mary's University to the Robertson Center Gym Wednesday evening for both squads 2013 inaugural MIAC contest. The Cardinals (8-2, 1-0 MIAC), who hail from Winona, came into the mid-week match as winners of their last six contests. Meanwhile, the Royals (7-6, 0-1 MIAC) are fresh off of a weekend trip to neighboring Wisconsin, where they went 2-2 with wins over Wisconsin Lutheran and Millikin University.
 
The league-opening match lived up to it's hype, as there was no greater than a five-point margin separating any of the games in the 3-1 result that favored the Cardinals. Bethel had numerous chances to win the match and looked primed to win with an 18-12 lead in the opening set and a 23-21 lead in the fourth, but fell in both—leading to the demise in the four-set match.
 
"It's difficult to look at the stats and figure out how we lost the match," said head volleyball coach Gretchen Hunt. "There are actually a lot of things that are encouraging. Our blocking has been a huge focus in practice, and overall, we did a much better job. We really were prepared for their outside hitters, and did a very good job holding them to a very low hitting percentage."

Carlee Hoppe tallied 18 kills in 53 attacks Wednesday evening, alongside 11 digs. Callie McKown and Nicole Ackatz also went for double-digit kills in the conference affair, recording 11 kills throughout the night.

Kali Johnson set the tone defensively for the Royals, finishing the match with 29 digs, while Ashlyn Hucky and Katie Lubben shared the setting responsibilities with 25 and 23 assists, respectively.
 
Lexi Assimos led the Cardinals with 33 assists, nine kills, 16 digs, and a .643 attacking percentage.

Hunt continued, "We are so excited to have Nicole Deberry back on the floor, and we did play a new line-up that we've never been able to play before because of her injury. So I am looking forward to being able to work on that line-up in practice heading into our next conference match."
 
Bethel will need to rebound quickly, as they travel to Moorhead, Minn., this weekend to take on Concordia College, who they defeated 3-1 at the Bethel University Invitational two weeks ago. The Cobbers, however, defeated a nationally-ranked Puget Sound last week and have momentum on their side. Saturday's match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.