HOLLAND, Mich. – The Bethel University volleyball team closed out its weekend at the Hope College tournament with a pair of victories Saturday at DeVos Fieldhouse. The Royals defeated Earlham College in four sets before sweeping Ohio Northern University to finish the weekend 3-1.
Bethel defeated Earlham 25-15, 25-22, 24-26, 25-17 before taking down Ohio Northern 25-18, 26-24, 25-20. The two victories move the Royals to 13-4 overall.
Bethel 3, Earlham 1
The Royals came out firing in Saturday's opener, hitting .333 with 16 kills and just two errors in a 25-15 first-set victory.
Bethel kept control in the second, putting down another 16 kills while hitting .279 to take the frame, 25-22, and build a 2-0 advantage.
Earlham extended the match with a narrow 26-24 victory in the third, but Bethel responded immediately. The Royals hit .275 in the fourth while holding Earlham to a .171 clip, pulling away for a 25-17 victory to close out the match.
Sara Scherber led the Bethel attack with 21 kills, while Grace Bathurst added 15 and Peyton Howie finished with nine. The Royals totaled 62 kills and hit .276 as a team while holding Earlham to .143.
Ellie Van Namen directed the offense with 35 assists and added 13 digs for a double-double. Hannah Penke led Bethel with 19 digs, while Grace Therrien added 17. Howie paced the Royals at the net with four blocks.
Bethel 3, Ohio Northern 0
Bethel carried its momentum into the tournament finale, turning in one of its strongest offensive starts of the weekend against Ohio Northern.
The Royals put down 18 kills with just one error in the opening set, hitting .472 on their way to a 25-18 victory.
Ohio Northern challenged Bethel in a tightly contested second set, but the Royals battled their way to a 26-24 win to move within one set of the sweep.
Bethel finished the job in the third, recording 16 kills and hitting .256 to take the set, 25-20, and close out the weekend with a straight-set victory.
Bathurst led the Royals with 14 kills, followed by Scherber with 11 and Howie with 10. Bethel finished with 50 kills and hit .285 as a team compared to Ohio Northern's .208.
The Royals also held an 8-5 advantage in blocks and a 58-49 edge in digs. Howie recorded a team-high three blocks, while Therrien led the back row with 18 digs. Penke added 11 digs and Cosette Carto finished with 10.
Van Namen recorded 27 assists, while Sophia Rubio added 10 as Bethel totaled 45 assists in the three-set victory.
Bethel finished Saturday a perfect 2-0 and went 3-1 across its four matches in Holland, earning wins over Bluffton, Earlham and Ohio Northern to improve to 13-4 overall.
Up Next: Bethel returns to MIAC play Wednesday, traveling to St. Olaf College for a 7 p.m. matchup.
