Bison Start Conference Play with Two Wins in Tri-Match

Sept. 13 – BETHANY, W. Va. – The Bethany Bison swept Geneva and Thiel in their Presidents' Athletic Conference opening tri-match on Tuesday.

In the first set of game one, the Bison and Golden Tornadoes were eye-to-eye, meeting at 9-9 at one point. From there, Bethany would get kills from seniors Dakota and Dylana McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio /West Muskingum), along with freshman Katie Sparks (Macedonia, Ohio / Trinity High School), propelling them to a 25-18 set win.

In the second set, Geneva gave Bethany a scare early on going up by as many as four (12-8). After a Bethany timeout several points later, the hosts found themselves on an upswing again getting help from Dylana McKenzie and Sparks before taking the second set, 25-20.

The Bison swept the third set with ease, 25-16, as the closest the GT's got in the set was in the first point of the game when Dakota McKenzie started it off with a kill.

Bethany took on Thiel in their second match of the night where they also swept their opponent. However, the Tomcats did not go down without a fight.

In the first set, Bethany looked primed to carry over their momentum from the first match, taking it 25-15. In the set, the offense got kills from five different player in the set.

The second set saw the closest match of the night so far, as throughout the entire set, there were eight ties.

Down one, an Alexis Castro (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain) kill tied the game at 8-8. From there, Thiel found some momentum and ended up taking a 17-13 lead.

A timely Bison timeout gave the shift back to the hosts, as they went on a 9-4 run, capped off with a kill by Dakota McKenzie to put them up 23-20. Thiel would crawl back within one at 23-22; however the Bison would shut the door to take their fifth set of the night.

In the early parts of the third set, Bethany held as much as a seven-point lead, to which Thiel answered back with four straight points, forcing Bethany to take a timeout and regain composure.

After that short break, Thiel stormed back on a 10-8 run to tie the set at 18 apiece with hopes for more.

Several points later, a Bethany attack error gave the Tomcats a 21-20. The next two points were attack errors for the visitors, proving the downfall of the set, as it allowed the Bison to regain the lead. From there, Bethany would answer with four points to see the match end on an attack error by Thiel.

In the match, Castro led the Bison with 10 kills, while Dakota and Dylana McKenzie each finished with nine. Emily Duke (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville) and Allie Powell (Indianapolis, Ind. /Lawrence Central) also finished with 17 and 14 assists, respectively.

The Bison start off PAC play with a 2-0 record and improve to 5-5 overall. This Saturday, they travel to Crestview Hills, Ky., to take part in a tri-match hosted by Thomas More. Their first match begins at 11 a.m. with the four-time defending PAC champion Saints before taking on Chatham at 1 p.m.