ST. JOSEPH, Minn.—Facing the No. 22-ranked Blazers from the College of Saint Benedict Wednesday night in a conference tilt did not faze the Royals, who were looking to win their fourth MIAC match in the last five contests. And although Bethel gave CSB a run for their money in every set, the Top 25-ranked Blazers came away with a 3-0 victory on their home court.
 
The Royals were competitive in every set—to the point of a 14-11 lead in the second frame—but in the end BU fell on the road 20-25, 21-25, and 23-25, as Saint Ben's was too much down the finish. With the loss, Bethel drops to 14-7 overall and 4-3 in league action.
 
Leading the Royals Wednesday night was Carlee Hoppe and Kristin Stern, who each had double-digit kills. Hoppe finished the night hitting .250 with 14 kills and four digs, while Stern added 12 kills, four blocks, and a .320 attacking percentage.
 
Sophomore setter Katie Lubben added 39 assists to her prolific season so far, while also adding nine digs to her stat line. Lubben ranks third among all setters with 10.66 assists per set and is one assist behind the Blazers' Taya Kockelman in total sets with 789.
 
Bethel hopes to get their momentum back this weekend when then participate in the UW-River Falls tournament. Oddly enough, the Royals will face two MIAC opponents throughout the weekend in a nonconference matchup. BU will meet Augsburg College—a team they just met last Wednesday—on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. competition against the hosting Falcons from UW-RF. The Royals then meet Gustavus Adolphus Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. and finally closeout the tournament with match against UW-Stout at 3 p.m. Following this weekend's tournament, Bethel will finish out its regular season with four matches against league foes over the next two weeks.