ARDEN HILLS, MINN.—The No. 1 seed Bethel University volleyball team found themselves trailing No. 4 seed Saint Benedict 24-19 in the third set, where they led the match 2-1. The Royals proceeded to force set point on a whopping five occasions, which included a 6-0 run that gave them a 25-24 lead. Three more lead changes occurred, which ended with back-to-back kills from Cosette Carto and Grace Bathurst that secured the Royals a 30-38 set-three win, and 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-16, 30-28) match victory over the Bennies in the 2026 MIAC Volleyball Semifinal at the Robertson Center on Thursday night.
The No. 1 seed Royals will host No. 3 seed Gustavus in the 2026 MIAC Volleyball Championship at the Robertson Center on Saturday, November 14 at 7 p.m. The Gusties upset No. 2 seed St. Olaf 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-16, 25-22) in the other semifinal match in Northfield on Thursday night. Saturday will be Bethel's fifth championship match appearance and the program's first since 2021.
The Bennies conclude their 2026 season with a 14-12 record.
Bethel 3, Saint Benedict 1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-16, 30-28)
Both teams were effective on the attack with a combined .201 attack percentage, but it was the Royals with the upper hand .230 - .174. Grace Bathurst and Peyton Howie had a slot to do with that. Bathurst paced the team with a .389 attack percentage on 16 kills and just two errors over 36 attempts, while Howie registered a .298 mark and 15 kills on just one error over 47 total swings. Howie also had five blocks and two aces for the Royals.
Bethel finished the contest with a season-high 110 digs. The last time Bethel eclipsed triple-digit digs was exactly two years ago on November 14, 2024, when they had 144 in a five-set loss to St. Catherine. Grace Therrien had a season-high 34 digs, followed by 25 digs and nine kills from Hannah Penke. Mattie Petersen finished with 18 digs for Bethel.
Ellie Van Namen registered 29 assists and eight digs for the Royals, while Sophia Rubio had 19 assists and 10 digs.
Kali Jones paced Saint Benedict with 22 kills, a .222 hitting percentage, and 18 digs.
