Box Score ST. PETER, Minn.—Bethel University's volleyball team was eager for revenge against Gustavus Adolphus College in Wednesday evening's MIAC opener at St. Peter, as the Golden Gusties (8-2, 1-0 MIAC) had defeated the Royals (8-2, 0-1 MIAC) in both the conference opener and playoff championship one year ago. But similar to last year, BU was unable to play at full strength and ran out of gas near the very end—falling by a final score of 3-2.
Bethel trailed Gustavus 17-13 in the first frame, but an 11-1 run helped the Royals cruise to a 25-20 victory. GAC responded quickly; however, as they evened the match with a 25-14 win in the second set. In fear of going down 2-1 as they looked up at a 9-3 and 17-14 deficit in the third game, Bethel posted several significant rallies, including a 5-1, 5-0, and 7-0 run throughout the contest that lifted the Royals to a 25-21 triumph.
BU then led 14-12 midway through the fourth, but Gustavus took a page out of Bethel's playbook and went on a 6-1 run that swung the momentum back in their favor. The Gusties never looked back from there and closed out the fourth with a 25-22 advantage. Despite dropping the fourth, BU still looked poised in the fifth. The Royals led 4-1 and 7-5, but an 8-2 rally for Gustavus proved to be too much for BU and resulted in a 15-11 finale in favor of the hosting Gusties.
The Royals totaled 64 points throughout the five sets played via 46 kills, 10 aces, and eight blocks. In addition, BU posted 42 assists and 94 digs throughout the match.
Tina Hoppe led the team offensively, as the sophomore outside hitter recorded 16 kills, four serving aces, and 13 digs, alongside a .222 hitting percentage. Older sister,
Carlee Hoppe, was right behind with 14 kills, one ace, two blocks, and 23 digs. Also contributing from the back row was
Dominique Dabue, who also tallied 23 digs.
Katie Lubben composed 21 assists, one ace, and eight digs throughout the conference clash, while sidekick
Holly Ellwanger added 16 assists, one kill, three aces, and 11 digs.
The road doesn't get any easier for the No. 12-ranked Royals, as they travel to Eau Claire this weekend to face (RV) UW-Eau Claire, St. Norbert, and UW-Stout on Friday and Saturday. Bethel then returns to MIAC play when they travel to Northfield next Wednesday to take on Carleton and then back home again Friday to face No. 25-ranked University of Northwestern in what will serve as a rematch of the 2015 NCAA Region Championship match.
