ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Bethel University volleyball team fought hard but ultimately came up just short, losing in five sets to St.Kate's in the MIAC semifinals Thursday night. The Royals took the first set by a score of 25-23, dropping the second set 25-21, before taking the third set 25-23. Bethel surrendered the final two sets to the Wildcats 27-25 and 15-12, dropping the match 3-2. The Royals season ends with a record of 20-9 and a conference record of 9-2.
Set one:
The Royals fell behind 10-3 in the opening set, before rallying for three points on kills from
Brenna Stark and
Ellie Van Namen to cut the deficit to 10-6. A
Peyton Howie kill followed by an ace made it a 18-12 Wildcat lead. Down 21-14 the Royals put together a 12-3 run to take the set in comeback fashion on a
Peyton Howie kill, taking it by a score of 25-23.
Set two:
Grace Solberg tied the second set at three with a kill, but a 7-1 Wildcat run put the Royals behind 10-4. The Royals battled back, closing the gap to three with a
Peyton Howie kill, tying it up at 18 with a
Brenna Stark kill. A 5-0 lead and a Wildcat attack error gave the Royals a 20-18 lead late.
Hannah Penke tied it a 21 with a kill, before a 4-0 St.Kate's run gave them the second set 25-21.
Set three:
Down 5-3 early, a 4-0 run and a pair of
Grace Solberg kills put the Royals in front 7-5. A 5-0 Bethel run opened up a 12-8 BU advantage, followed by a
Grace Solberg kill starting a 6-0 run to give the Royals a 18-10 lead. St.Kate's responded with a 7-1 run of their own to narrow the Bethel lead to just two at 19-17. A key Peyon Howie kill got the Royals a 23-20 lead, before two Wildcat attack errors gave Bethel set three 25-23.
Set four:
A 7-1 run to start set four gave the Royals a quick 7-2 lead,
Brenna Stark came up with a kill to make it a 9-4 Bethel advantage.
Peyton Howie continued to build the Bethel lead with a kill to make it 15-10. A 6-1 Wildcat run tied the set at 18, with the Royals reclaiming the lead on a
Grace Solberg kill to make it 20-18. A kill from
Eleanor Pelzel sent the Royals to set point, before a 4-1 run gave St.Kate's the set 27-25.
Set five:
The deciding fifth set was tight throughout with three early lead changes, and the Royals taking a 5-4 lead on a
Grace Solberg kill. A 5-1 St.Kate's run put the Royals down 9-6, but Bethel battled back putting together a 4-1 run tying the set at 10.
Eleanor Pelzel came up with a kill to tie the set once more, this time at 12 a piece. The Wildcats got the upper hand however, using a 4-1 run to take the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.
Grace Solberg came up with 19 kills for the Royals, with
Peyton Howie tallying 16 kills of her own.
Brenna Stark recorded 52 assists and 20 digs, earning a double-double.
