ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Fans poured into the Robertson Center Friday evening to see the Bethel University volleyball team open the home portion of the 2019 season with a win over Wisconsin-Stout, 3-1, by scores of 25-19, 19-25, 25-21, 28-26.

Junior Maria Claflin was a strong presence at the net once again knocking down 17 kills – seven of which came in the opening set – hitting .368 for the match. She also helped out on defense with a season-high seven blocks and accounted for 24 of Bethel's 67 points. Sophomore Hannah Wilhite added 10 kills and 29 assists. Junior libero Rylee Forshee worked side line to side line with a match-high 28 digs.

The Royals improve to 5-2 on the year and continue to host the 2019 Bethel Invitational tomorrow inside the Robertson Center. The Royals are set to take on St. Norbert College at noon and then will square off with Minnesota-Morris for the second time this week at 4 p.m. For more info and live stats and video links visit the 2019 Bethel Invitational Tournament Central page by clicking here.

A strong 10-5 start in set one set up the Royals to take the final three points in dramatic fashion. Back-to-back kills by Macie Gavic and Claflin set up set point where Claflin and Wilhite combined for the set winning block. UW-Stout threw the punches right back opening up the second on a 5-0 run. Bethel adjusted quickly pulling within one but could never get over the hump. A pair of lengthy runs by the Blue Devils pushed them to a second set victory.

Bethel was still in a good spot feeding off the energy from the Royal faithful. Another strong start in the third gave the Royals a chance to open on a 15-9 lead and they never looked back from there. Long rallies highlighted the fourth set which featured 18 ties and 11 lead changes. Each team had their fair share of runs before being all knotted up six different times after 20-20. The Royals overcame multiple set points before Claflin finished it off with a kill making it 28-26.