ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Bethel University volleyball team took on Wartburg College in a back-and-forth battle in the Robertson Center Gym Tuesday night. The Royals ultimately lost to the Knights in five sets, dropping the first set 25-20, winning the second and third sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-20. Before dropping the fourth set 25-19 and the fifth set 15-12. The loss drops the Royals to 17-7 on the year.
Set one:
A
Grace Solberg kill and
Peyton Howie ace opened an early 4-3 lead for the Royals in set one. With a pair of
Grace Solberg kills growing the Bethel lead to 7-4, before the Knights tied the score at seven. With the Knights leading by three a pair of
Sophie Jacques kills made it a 16-15 game.
Peyton Howie later came up with a pair of kills to give the Royals a 18-17 lead. Wartburg closed out the set with an 8-2 run however, taking set one by a score of 25-20.
Set two:
Peyton Howie put the Royals ahead early with a kill to make it 4-2, before a 7-1 run gave Bethel a 11-4 lead. Another 8-2 Royal run capped off with a
Peyton Howie kill opened up a commanding 16-6 Bethel advantage. Later
Grace Solberg came up with a kill to make it a 19-8 Royals lead.
Ellie Van Namen got the Royals to set point with a kill, where a Knights attack error gave the Royals the set 25-16.
Set three:
Bethel found themselves down 7-2 early in the third set, before battling back on a pair of
Grace Solberg kills to make it 8-6.
Hannah Penke later came up with a kill to cut the Royals deficit to just one, 12-11.
Grace Therrien came up with a key ace to tie the set at 14, and
Grace Solberg later gave the Royals their first lead of the set on a kill to make it 19-18 Bethel. The Royals closed out the set with a 6-1 run to take it by a score of 25-20.
Set four:
Grace Solberg opened up an 8-4 Royals lead with a kill to begin the fourth set. Later a
Peyton Howie kill put the Royals ahead 13-10. Later a 6-1 Wartburg run gave the Knights a 16-14 lead, before the Royals rallied for three points, taking a 17-16 lead on a
Peyton Howie ace. Down 20-18 late,
Grace Solberg came up with a kill to cut the deficit to one, but the Knights closed out the set with a 5-0 run to take it 25-19.
Set five:
Grace Therrien got the scoring start for the Royals, with an ace to begin the fifth set.
Peyton Howie later tied the set a five with a kill, before falling behind 9-6.
Hannah Penke then came up with a kill of her own to make it a 9-7 game, but a 5-0 Wartburg run pushed it to match point. The Royals rallied though, with
Grace Solberg and
Peyton Howie each coming up with a pair of kills to make it 14-12. It was too much to overcome though as the Knights took the deciding set 15-12 and the match 3-2.
Peyton Howie tallied 20 kills and .340 hitting percentage in the match, with
Grace Solberg collecting 19 kills of her own.
Brenna Stark has now recorded 48 assists for the second game in a row.
Hannah Penke played excellent defense with 25 digs, while
Grace Therrien had 24 digs and 2 aces.
Up next:
The Royals look to bounce back on senior night against Saint Mary's University on Friday in the Robertson Center Gym. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
