ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - On Tuesday evening the 4th seeded Bethel University Royals hosted the 5th seeded St. Ben's University Bennies in the first round of the MIAC Playoffs. In four highly competitive sets SBU defeated the Royals with scores of 20-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-18. For almost the entirety of Bethel's starting squad, this could be potentially be the last game in blue and gold. The Royals await their fate to be decided on selection day.

• The early stages of set one were close as there were six total tie scores and three lead changes

• Kirstin Cotter and Natalie Hallstrom had two blocks back to back that started a Bethel run

• SBU's offense started to pick up towards the end of the set, scoring two 3-0 runs, but it wasn't enough to catch Bethel

• The second set was tight until two 4-0 runs from St. Ben's forced Bethel to take their first timeout of the match

• Down 24-20, BU started to rally but they ultimately fell short as the second set went to SBU

• Set three started with a 3-0 run by St. Ben's, Bethel needed a 4-0 run to tie the score back up

• SBU strung a 4-0 run to create a gap that the Royals couldn't work out of, despite bringing the set to within two points

• The Royals had a 3-0 run to start the fourth set but St. Ben's quickly caught up

• A 7-2 run from SBU allowed them to take a slight lead that only grew as the set went on

Key Performers

• Hannah Wilhite - 46 assists

• Kirstin Cotter - 20 kills, 7 block assists

• Dani Friedges - 16 kills, 22 digs