Bison Volleyball Aims Return to PAC Final
Sept. 2 – BETHANY, W.Va. – After a trip to the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Final last season and a loss to Thomas More, the Bethany College women's volleyball team is determined to return in 2016 and come out on top.
After finishing 2015 with a record of 30-10 overall and 15-3 in conference, the Bison return a strong core in hopes of making another run at the PAC title.
On offense, they return their top four kills leaders from last season. Seniors Dylana and Dakota McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio/West Muskingum) finished one and two, respectively, registering 401 and 393 kills. Senior Alexis Castro (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain) finished with 316 kills and her classmate Arielle Sanders (Maple Heights, Ohio/Maple Heights) also tallied 278 kills to finish in the team's top four.
Both McKenzie's garnered all-conference nods last year with Dylana being named First Team All-PAC and Dakota earning Second Team All-PAC while Sanders also picked up a Second Team All-PAC nod.
All four previously mentioned are also counted upon up front. Sanders led the team in 2015 with 120 blocks with junior Sumayyah Muhammad (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) finishing second with 89 blocks at the middle blocker position. Castro registered 81 while Dylana recorded 65 blocks with Dakota picking up 61.
On defense, Bethany returns the PAC Rookie of the Year, Reilly Parker (Irwin, Pa./Norwin). Last season, Parker ranked 10th in Division III with 677 digs, a record in the rally-scoring era. Along with Dakota McKenzie who totaled 295 digs, senior Allie Powell (Indianapolis, Ind. /Lawrence Central) also played a role on defense last year picking up 122 digs.
Bethany begins their season Friday, Sept. 2, where they will travel for the Mount Union tournament and open with a non-conference match versus Grove City before playing three more matches the over the course of the weekend. They return home, Tuesday, Sept. 13, to host a PAC tri-match with Geneva and Thiel, slated to start at 4:00 p.m.
