Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 LA CROSSE, Wis.—It was a tough day for the Bethel University volleyball team, as the Royals dropped a pair of nonconference matches at the UW-La Crosse Invitational Friday. With the losses against UW-La Crosse and Augustana College (Ill.), BU fell to 15-8 on the season.
 
Bethel nearly overcame a first-set loss against tournament-host UW-La Crosse in the opening match of the day, but despite the Royals taking game two 25-21, the Eagles were able to fend off BU with a 25-21 victory in the third set and a 26-24 win in the final frame. The Royals overcame a 15-19 deficit in the fourth set with an 8-4 run that tied the game at 23-23, but UW-La Crosse captured three out of the final four points to win the match 3-1.
 
BU hit just .101 throughout the competition with 64 points on 38 kills, five aces, and a whopping 21 blocks. The Eagles tallied 18 more kills, 14 more assists, and 11 more digs, however, which proved to be the difference down the stretch.
 
Tegan LaBerge and Nicole Deberry were unbelievable on defense for the Royals, as LaBerge finished with two solo blocks and both recorded 11 block assists. In addition to her defensive performance, LaBerge added seven kills and the team's second best hitting percentage.
 
Kristin Stern led the squad with 12 kills and a .360 attacking percentage, while also adding one block and five block assists to her final stat line. Junior Carlee Hoppe posted eight kills and nine digs.
 
Leading Bethel from the back row was Kali Johnson, who composed 20 digs. Katie Lubben also dug 13 attack attempts, while also leading the Royals with 22 assists.
 
Jill Entinger led UW-La Crosse with 19 kills and a .286 attacking percentage. Setter Jaclyn Barrett led all players with 47 assists.  
 
The Royals looked to rebound in their second match of the day against Augustana College, but the Vikings handled the Royals in straight sets by a final of 25-21, 25-15, and 25-23. Stats for this match were unavailable late Friday night, but will be posted when made available Saturday.
 
BU completes their weekend tournament with a 10 a.m. contest against Dickinson State University (N.D.) and a 12:30 p.m. matchup against Central College on Saturday. The Royals will then return to conference play with four games remaining in the regular season.