STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The Bethel University volleyball team split a pair of tough matches Saturday afternoon at the Pointer Invite in Stevens Point, Wis. The Royals opened the day with a 3-1 loss to No. 19 Carthage before earning a bounce back win against the host Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 3-1.

Sophomore Hannah Wilhite combined for 22 kills and 68 assists while being named to the All-Tournament Team. Junior Maria Claflin tallied 24 combined kills while freshman Emily Rossing had eight block assists to go with one solo block.

The Royals travel to Minnesota Morris on Tuesday, Sept. 10 before returning home next weekend to host the Bethel Invitational.

#19 Carthage 3, Bethel 1 (25-16, 25-22, 12-25, 25-19
Macie Gavic and Wilhite both registered 10 kills in the match with Wilhite adding 28 assists. Junior Allie Fauth was all over the court coming away with 22 digs.

Bethel kept it close to start but Carthage pulled away thanks to hitting .429 in the first. The Royals responded well in the second force 11 ties and 11 changes in a tight set. Four straight points got Bethel to a 14-10 lead before Carthage battled back to tie it at 18-18. The Lady Reds went on to score the sets final four points to go up 2-0.

The Royals were lights out in third hitting .311 with 18 kills and forcing Carthage to just six. Up 13-12, Bethel strung off the next 12 points, seven which came on successful kill attempts. Bethel tried to recover from a 10-4 deficit in the fourth but untimely the Lady Reds came away to take the match.

Bethel 3, Wisconsin-Stevens Point 1 (25-19, 20-25, 29-27, 25-22)
Three Royals reached double figures in the kill column in the Royals four set win over the host Pointers. Claflin led the way with 16 kills while Wilhite added 11 and Kirstin Cotter tallied 10. Dominique Dabu registered a season-high 24 digs.

BU came out swinging hitting .324 in the opening set. A nice five point run midway through the opening set responded to UWSP's 6-1 run start to open the match. Kills by Rossing and Cotter closed out the first set where BU took it 25-19.

UWSP found a rhythm taking the second set 25-20. There was no panic from the Royals whose endurance was tested in the third. The Pointers fended off a BU set point eventually taking a 26-25 advantage. The Royals threw the punches right back as Fauth picked up a kill leading to an eventual set ending kill for Kelsie Sealock.

The fourth was another tight set being knotted up on five occasions late. A kill by Fauth gave Bethel a two point advantage at 24-22, something they hadn't had since 14-12. It was only fitting that Wilhite was the one to end it connecting on a set from Ellie Hoyt.