Box Score 1 | Box Score 2  ST. PETER, Minn.—The Bethel University volleyball team split on the opening day of the 2014 Gustavus Adolphus Volleyball Invitational. The Royals topped the University of Wisconsin-Stout 3-0, before dropping a 1-3 heart-breaker to the No. 20-ranked Kohawks from Coe College.
 
Game One [Statistics]

Bethel opened the Gustavus Invitational with a thrilling 3-0 victory over the Blue Devils from UW-Stout. The Royals rallied from a 21-22 deficit late in the opening set with a 4-1 sequence that proved to be pivotal for BU throughout the entire match. Bethel used the momentum from game one to take Stout down 25-20 in the second and 25-21 in the third.
 
Middle blocker Tegan LaBerge had a standout performance in the first match of the Gustie tournament. The Maple Grove, Minn., native collected 13 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, alongside four blocks and two serving aces. Carlee Hoppe also tallied a double-digit afternoon, finishing the match with 11 kills and an attacking mark of .300.
 
Katie Lubben set the tone from a passers perspective, as the Chanhassen native amassed 30 sets throughout the match and was 2-for-2 in attack attempts. High school and now college teammate, Courtney Sheets, finished the contest with 15 digs, while Kali Johnson added 11 and six kills.
 
Game Two [Statistics]
 
The second match for the Royals was a dogfight, and although it started similar to the first, it ended in Coe College's favor. Bethel overpowered the No. 20-ranked Kohawks 26-24 in the opening frame, but fell in the final three by the narrow margins of 22-25, 23-25, and 21-25.
 
BU trailed Coe 18-20 late in the first set, but demonstrated toughness and perseverance to overcome the late deficit. The two teams were even again in the second, as Coe held a 23-22 advantage near the end of the set, but following a timeout the Kohawks rallied for two quick points to even the match at one.
 
Unfortunately for the Royals, painstaking sets continued as a 22-20 advantage dwindled in the third game when the Kohawks called another pivotal timeout that helped them go on a 5-1 run to closeout the set in Coe's favor. Trailing 1-2 in the match and already enduring the previous three gut-wrenching sets, Bethel was unable to overcome the obstacle and fell in the fourth, 21-25.
 
BU hit .224 as a team and finished with 53 digs, but the Kohawks countered with an attacking mark of .274 and 59 digs. Katie Lubben was credited with 47 assists as well as 10 digs throughout the match, while Courtney Sheets and Kali Johnson added 14 and 10 digs, respectively.
 
Offensively, Lubben benefitted from the players that accumulated double-digit kills, including middle blockers Kristin Stern and Tegan LaBerge as well as Carlee Hoppe. Stern led all hitters with 16 kills throughout the nonconference affair, while Hoppe was just behind with 15. LaBerge ended her exceptional day with 11 slams and two blocks.
 
Looking Ahead
 
The Royals await day two of the 2014 Gustavus Adolphus Volleyball Invitational, where they will face the University of Minnesota-Morris at 2 p.m., followed by the tournament closer against Simpson College at 4 p.m. Bethel's bout with the Cougars comes a day after UM-Morris defeated the No. 24-ranked Auggies of Augsburg College.