Volleyball Posts Pair of Sweeps Over Conference Opponents
Sept. 22 – NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Bethany College volleyball team pushed their Presidents' Athletic Conference record over the .500 mark as they swept away two conference opponents on Tuesday evening. The Bison first defeated Thiel College 3-0 before taking down the host Titans of Westminster College, 3-0.
In Bethany's first matchup of the evening, the Green & White took down the Tomcats of Thiel by a 3-0 score. Game one stayed close between the two teams, as the programs were knotted at 13-13 midway through the first set.
From there, the Bison used an 8-0 run with Julia Mouch (Toledo, Ohio/Sylvania Southview) serving. Mouch tallied a service ace in the run, while Dakota McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio/West Muskingum) notched a pair of kills. The Green & White would go on to take the set on McKenzie's fifth kill of the set.
Set two once again saw both sides tied midway through the game. Bethany played behind through the first 12 points, eventually knotting the set at 12-12. From there, however, the Green & White once again took over.
A 9-0 run Dakota McKenzie again pushed the Bison ahead by a 21-12 score. Dakota McKenzie once again proved to be a catalyst as she served all nine points, including two aces. Dylana McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio/West Muskingum) also got in on the action, tallying three kills in the run. Bethany would go on to win set two by a 25-14 advantage.
The third set was all Bison as Bethany raced out to a 15-2 advantage in the deciding game. Freshman Reilly Parker (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) fueled the run with five service aces in the first ten points. The Green & White then rolled on to the 25-7 win, clinching the 3-0 sweep.
As a team, the Bison tallied a season-high 11 service aces, led by six from Parker. The ace total was the most by the Bison since OctoDylana McKenzieainst St. Olaf.
Individually, Dakota and Dylana McKenzie totaled seven kills each, as did Arielle Sanders (Maple Heights, Ohio/Maple Heights). Mackenzie Lauber (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison) posted 13 assists, while Allie Powell (Indianapolis, Ind. /Lawrence Central) finished with nine.
In game two, the Bison took on the host Titans, defeating Westminster in straight sets by scores of 25-17, 31-29 and 25-10.
Bethany opened the match by taking the first set, 25-17. The teams were tied 7-7 early, untilDakota McKenzie an 8-3 run to open a 15-10 advantage. Five different players tallied a kill in the run, including a pair from Dakota McKenzie. The Bison would then push their lead to as many as seven, before taking the match by eight points, 25-17.
Match two was the closest of the three sets, as the two teams needed extra points to find a winner. The Bison opened their lead to five points with a 14-9 advantage. Westminster would battle back, however, knotting the set at 16-16.
From there, the match would go back and forth, with neither team holding more than a one-point lead. 13 times, the two sides knotted the score, with the last tie coming at 29-29 on a kill by Alexis Castro (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain). Castro then finished off the game for the Bison, posting the final two points of the set on back-to-back kills, giving Bethany the 31-29 win.
The Green & White made sure there was no doubt in the third set, as they once again stepped on the gas pedal. Castro tallied four of Bethany's first 10 points of the set as the Bison jumped out to a 10-2 advantage.
With the score sitting at 19-10Dakota McKenzield end the match on a flurry, posting a 6-0 run to take the third set, 25-10, and the match, 3-0.
In the second victory, the Green & White were led offensively by Dakota McKenzie's 13 kills, along with 12 from Castro. As a team, the Bison hit .256, while holding Westminster to a .106 hitting percentage. Lauber finished with a team-high 20 assists, while freshman Emily Duke (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville) tallied 17.
Defensively, Parker went over the 20-dig plateau once again, finishing the match with 23 of the team's 46. With her dig total, Parker has now tallied 302 digs, averaging a conference-best 6.16 digs per set through the first 16 matches of her career.
Bethany will be back in action on Wednesday, September 23 as they play host to both Waynesburg University and Marietta College. The conference matchup with the Yellow Jackets is slated for a 4 p.m. start, with the non-conference clash with the Pioneers slated for 7:30.
