RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The Bethel University volleyball team capped off an undefeated weekend at the UW-River Falls Tournament with a pair of straight-set victories Saturday, sweeping Lake Forest College before taking down host UW-River Falls at Don Page Arena.
Bethel defeated Lake Forest 25-22, 25-12, 25-14 in the afternoon before returning to the court to sweep UW-River Falls 25-17, 25-22, 25-21. The two victories improved the Royals to 6-2 overall and completed a 3-0 tournament weekend without dropping a set.
Bethel 3, Lake Forest 0
The Royals opened Saturday with a competitive first set against Lake Forest, battling to a 25-22 victory before taking control over the final two frames.
Bethel's defense limited the Foresters to a negative hitting percentage in both the second and third sets. Lake Forest hit -.067 in the second as the Royals cruised to a 25-12 victory before being held to -.045 in a 25-14 third-set win.
Grace Bathurst led the Bethel attack with a match-high 11 kills while adding three blocks. Peyton Howie followed with nine kills, while Hannah Penke contributed eight.
Ellie Van Namen directed the offense with 21 assists, while Sophia Rubio added nine. Penke also recorded three of Bethel's seven service aces.
Defensively, Penke and Grace Therrien each collected 14 digs.
The Royals finished with a 39-28 advantage in kills and hit .211 for the match while holding Lake Forest to .083. Bethel also held advantages in assists (32-24) and service aces (7-3).
Bethel 3, UW-River Falls 0
Bethel carried its momentum into the tournament finale against host UW-River Falls, opening the match with its strongest offensive set of the day.
The Royals put down 15 kills with just two errors in the opening frame, hitting .351 on their way to a 25-17 victory.
Bethel followed with 18 kills and a .277 hitting percentage in a tightly contested second set, coming away with a 25-22 win. The Royals then held the Falcons to a .082 hitting percentage in the third to close out the match with a 25-21 victory.
Sara Scherber paced the Royals offensively with 13 kills, while Howie added 10 and Penke finished with nine.
Van Namen and Rubio combined to run the Bethel offense, finishing with 17 and 16 assists, respectively.
Therrien turned in a strong defensive performance with a match-high 28 digs. Penke added 11, while Van Namen recorded 10 digs to go along with her 17 assists.
Bethel finished the match hitting .252 while holding UW-River Falls to .163. The Royals held advantages in kills (46-39), assists (41-32) and digs (67-62).
With Saturday's pair of sweeps, Bethel finished the UW-River Falls Tournament 3-0, winning all nine sets across the weekend and improving to 6-2 on the season.
Up Next: The Royals return to Wisconsin on Wednesday, Sept. 16, traveling to UW-Eau Claire for a 7 p.m. match.
