ST. JOSEPH, Minn.—Bethel University's volleyball team suffered a three-set loss at the College of Saint Benedict on Friday evening by final scores of 22-25, 20-25, and 20-25.
 
The Royals (11-4, 3-3 MIAC) led the Blazers (11-6, 5-1 MIAC) 22-20 in the opening set, but five unanswered points for CSB gave the home squad huge momentum to begin the conference tilt.
 
Bethel tried to flip the switch in the second set by jumping out to a 14-10 advantage, but Saint Ben's closed the frame on a 15-6 run and led the match 2-0.
 
BU's deficit got even bigger when the Blazers jumped out to a 17-11 lead in the third and the comeback proved to be insurmountable when Saint Ben's closed out the final set with a 25-20 triumph.
 
Tina Hoppe led the Royals with a team-high eight kills and a team-best 13 digs to go along with a .182 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, Kristin Stern and Maria Claflin each posted seven kills and Macie Gavic composed six kills. Claflin and Gavic both finished with two block assists.
 
Bailey Israelson and Mikayla Morrow each recorded 14 assists and seven digs, while Dominique Dabu and Brooke Olstad added nine digs.
 
Bethel needs to put back-to-back road losses in the rear view mirror when they play host to Concordia College at home next Wednesday, October 11 at 7 p.m.