Bethel University Athletics

10/13/2017 9:21:00 PM /

Volleyball

Bethel Sweeps Central and Nebraska Wesleyan on Day One of North Central Tournament

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Bethel University's volleyball team improved to 14-4 on the season with a sweep over Central College and Nebraska Wesleyan University on day one of the 2017 Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament hosted by North Central College. The Royals (14-4, 4-3 MIAC) rolled to a 3-0 victory over the Dutch (8-17) by scores of 25-13, 25-18, and 25-12 in Friday's opener before ending the day with a sweep over the Prairie Wolves (8-12) by scores of 26-24, 25-17, and 25-15.
 
BU hit .302 as a team against Central thanks to 41 kills and just 12 errors in 96 attempts. The Royals generated 51.5 points throughout the match on 41 kills, two aces, and eight blocks. Bethel also manufactured 39 assists and 50 digs.
 
Freshman Rylee Forshee had a great performance in the back row for the Royals as she finished with a match-high 20 digs. Helping Forshee on defense was Brooke Olstad, who composed 10 digs, five kills, and three block assists, and Tina Hoppe, who ended with eight digs, six kills, two solo blocks, and three block assists.
 
Kristin Stern and Macie Gavic led BU on offense as the 1-2 punch collected 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Stern also posted four block assists. Bailey Israelson recorded a match-high 25 assists and Mikayla Morrow finished right behind with 10.
 
Bethel's success continued in the night cap as they hit .302 once again on 40 kills and eight errors in 106 attempts. In total, BU finished with 58 points on 40 kills, seven aces, and 11 blocks, while also recording 36 assists and 54 digs.
 
Kristin Stern continued her extraordinary play, netting 12 kills and one error in 26 attempts (.423) in addition to three blocks. The senior is now hitting .353 on the season after totaling 37 kills and just two errors in 69 attempts (.507) over the last three matches.
 
Maria Claflin logged seven kills and no errors in 13 attempts (.538) in addition to three aces and six blocks—five solo. Tina Hoppe continued her consistent play with nine kills and one error in 24 chances (.333) alongside eight digs. Brooke Olstad also finished with six kills, three blocks, and 15 digs.
 
Leading the way for BU in the back row was Dominique Dabue, who paced all players with 16 digs. Meanwhile, Bailey Israelson and Mikayla Morrow registered 20 and 11 assists, respectively.
 
Bethel returns to action Saturday when they close out the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament with an 11 a.m. match against St. Lawrence University and a 1 p.m. test against UW-Oshkosh.