Box Score Box ScoreWINONA, Minn.—The Bethel University women's volleyball team traveled down to Winona, Minn., for their first road test in league play against Saint Mary's University Wednesday night, but suffered an 0-3 loss to the hosting Cardinals despite showing signs of success in each set.
The Royals trailed 0-3 initially in the opening set before a 5-1 run put BU ahead of SMU 5-4 early. The two battled neck-and-neck until the Cardinals rattled off an 8-0 run to go ahead 15-8 and closed on a 10-7 run to capture the opening set.
Bethel again trailed early in the second game, but managed to get the score back to 8-11 midway through the frame. Saint Mary's fed off of the energy from the home crowd, though, and continued the set with a 14-7 run that saw the Royals down 0-2 in the match after back-to-back 15-25 losses.
Despite trailing by two games BU looked unfazed in the third set and battled with the Cardinals point-for-point. Even when SMU took a 9-6 lead, the Royals stormed back to capture a 16-14 advantage. But again the whiteout crowd at the SMU Gym played its part and pushed the Cardinals over the top, thanks to an 11-4 run to closeout the third.
Statistically, the Cardinals limited Bethel's offensive strategy, as nobody finished with more than nine kills and, collectively, BU finished with a .129 hitting percentage.
Tegan LaBerge ended the match with nine kills, one block, and a .304 attacking mark, while
Kristin Stern went for seven kills, two blocks, and a .286 hitting percentage.
The Royals' 21 digs were scattered amongst 10 different players with nobody having more than four. Meanwhile,
Katie Lubben led the team in assists with 14 of the 22 total sets.
The loss was Bethel's first against MIAC opponents, dropping them to 1-1 in loop play. The Royals will attempt to rebound on Saturday, when they return home to face Concordia College in the Robertson Center Gym at 3 p.m. The Cobbers are 1-1 against league foes as well, after a 3-0 win tonight against Hamline and a 1-3 loss at Augsburg last Thursday.
