Bethany Volleyball Dominates in Wins Over Waynesburg/Marietta
Sept. 23 – BETHANY, W. Va. – On a day in which they celebrated milestone achievements from their senior class, the Bethany College volleyball team (13-5, 4-1 PAC) posted a pair of straight-set victories on Wednesday. The Bison defeated Waynesburg University, 3-0, in Presidents' Athletic Conference play, before sweeping Marietta College, 3-0, in the night cap.
In the Bison's first match of the day, the Green & White made it three-consecutive straight-set sweeps over a PAC opponent as Bethany defeated the Yellow Jackets, 3-0. The Bison grabbed game one by a 25-13 score, before taking set two, 25-15. They then dominated the third set, grabbing the deciding game by a tally of 25-11.
The Bethany offense flexed its muscles in the opening set, hitting .406 on 32 attempts. The Green & White never trailed in the set, using a 6-0 run to open a one-point lead into a 10-3 advantage early in the game. Dylana McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio/West Muskingum) fueled the run with a trio of kills. From there, the Bison cruised to the 12 point win in the opening game.
Junior Alexis Castro (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain) was instrumental in the set one win, tallying five of the team's last ten points and accumulating seven kills overall in the first game.
In set two, the Green & White once again dominated, taking the lead at 3-2 and never again trailing in the set. The game was still close midway through as Waynesburg had closed a sizable gap down to 12-10 on a service error. Bethany, however, would control the rest of the set, outscoring Waynesburg 13-5.
In the second set, the Bison used balance to get the job done as five different players accounted for the team's last 14 points. Dakota McKenzie (HopeDylana McKenzie Muskingum) posted four kills, while Castro and Dylana McKenzie tallied three, each. The Bison also received points from Sumayyah Muhammad (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) and Mackenzie Lauber (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison).
Set three was once again all Bison as Bethany opened the third-and-final game with a 10-2 advantage. The Green & White went on to cruise to the 25-11 set victory, taking the match 3-0. In the third set, Samantha Katchen (Fox River Grove, Ill./Cary Grove) notched three kills while Muhammad totaled three, including the game-winner.
Overall, the Bison held Waynesburg to a -.019 hitting percentage, while the Green & White tallied a .356 percentage on the offensive end. Castro led the way for Bethany, finishing with 12 kilDakota McKenzienzie added 10, while Muhammad totaled seven and Dakota McKenzie, six. Lauber dished out 20 assists in the win, while Allie Powell (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) totaled 13.
Defensively, Bethany finished with 7.0 blocks and 52 digs in the three-set victory. Freshman Reilly Parker (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) collected her ninth match with at least 20 digs as she finished with 20. Mouch added 11, while Katchen finished with five.
After the match, Mouch was honored as the victory over Waynesburg marked her 100th-career triumph in a Bison uniform. To date, Mouch has played in 137 career matches, and the teams she has been a part of, have posted a combined record of 100-37 (.729 winning percentage).
In the second match of the evening, the Bison tallied a strong defensive effort, defeating the Pioneers, 3-0, behind an all-around team performance. The Green & White took game one, 25-11 before capturing games two and three by scores of 25-9 and 25-17, respectively.
In the opening set, the Bison led by just one in the early stages, 11-10, before embarking on a 9-0 run that broke the set open. Mouch tallied a kill to get the run started, before adding two service aces during the flurry of points for the Green & White. Bethany then used that momentum to go on for the 25-11 win, taking a 1-0 leDakota McKenzie.
Set two also heavily favored Bethany as they ran out to a 12-2 lead early, thanks to three kills from Dakota McKenzie, as well as a pair from Castro. Bethany would go onto to take the commanding two-set lead, winning the gDylana McKenzief the Bison's final four points in the set came on aces by Parker, with the last point being scored a block by Dylana McKenzie and Ashley Veryser (Cygnet, Ohio/Elmwood).
In the third and final set, the Green & White trailed by two points early, but quickly made the deficit disappear, thanks 4-0 run, including an ace from Mouch. Bethany never again trailed in the set, taking the third game 25-17, and the matcDakota McKenziep marked the fourth in a row for the Green & White.
Defensively in the match, the Bison tallied 11.0 team blocks, with six different players posting at least one. Dakota McKenzie and Arielle Sanders notched five blockDakota McKenzieCastro and Muhammad finished with four apiece. Thanks to the team's solid play at the net, Bethany held Marietta to a .021 hitting percentage.
The Green & White finished with 47 digs, led by Parker's 16. Mouch added 11, while DakDakota McKenzienished with nine. For Parker and Mouch, the pair registered double-digit digs in tDylana McKenzieor 17thtime in the team's first 18 outings this season.
Offensively, the Green & White showed balance, with three different Bison notching seven kills. Dylana McKenzie, Sanders and Dakota McKenzie all finished with seven, while Castro and Lauber each tallied three. Lauber also finished the contest with 13 assists.
For Lauber, her assists added to her already impressive total of 3,140. The senior setter was honored before game two as just the second Bison player in school history to reach the 3,000-assist mark. She currently trails only Jessica Zavatchen, who holds the Bethany career record with 5,251.
The Bison will be back in action on Saturday, September 26, when they travel to Waynesburg, Pa. for a PAC tri-match with Grove City College and the host Yellow Jackets. Bethany will take on Waynesburg at 1 p.m. before squaring off with the Wolverines at 3:00 p.m.
