Bison Volleyball Splits in PAC Tri-Match

Sept. 17 - Crestview Hills, Ky. - The Bethany volleyball team split a Presidents' Athletic Conference tri-match, losing to Thomas More 3-2 and defeating Chatham 3-0.

In the first set against the host Saints, the Bison got out to a hot start taking the first set 25-20. After taking the early 8-4 lead, the Saints would rally back for five straight points to take the 9-8 lead. After back-and-forth scoring, TMC found themselves up 20-16. It was there that the Bison would rattle off nine straight points to take the set. In the run, Alexis Castro (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain) had three kills while Dakota McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio /West Muskingum) added two.

The Bison also took the second set 25-18. Again, the Green and White would jump out to an early 7-3 lead before the hosts would play to a 9-9 tie. A Katie Sparks (Macedonia, Ohio / Trinity High School) kill would give the Bison the lead and they would never trail again in the set.

The third set would see an early 5-5 tie before the Saints would go on an 8-1 run to take the 13-6 lead. The change in momentum sparked the Bison, as they fought back to within three at 15-12 thanks to kills by Sumayyah Muhammad (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding), Dakota McKenzie, Castro, and Arielle Sanders (Maple Heights, Ohio/Maple Heights). However, the hosts would never give up the lead and take the set 25-23.

The fourth set saw the Bison dominate early and often, getting up to an 18-11 lead, capped off by a McKenzie kill. Shortly after, TMC would climb back to a tie at 24 apiece before taking the final two points to setup up the fifth and final set of 15.

The final set did not disappoint, with the largest lead being three. At one point, Bethany trailed 11-8 until Castro and Dylana McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio /West Muskingum) would combine pickup three straight points to knot it up at 11.

From that point on, it was a battle for get the two point advantage for the win. The Bison were the first to 15; however, the Saints would tie it up immediately. Muhammad would again give Bethany the 18-17 lead until the hosts would tie it again and eventually take the set 21-19 for the match victory.

In the first game, Bethany was led offensively by Castro with 15 kills while Dakota McKenzie tallied 11. Allie Powell also registered 25 assists to lead the Bison.

In the second match against Chatham, Bethany would capture it in three sets for their third PAC victory. 

In the first set, Bethany took an early 10-7 advantage before Chatham would rally off six consecutive points for the 13-10 lead.

The teams would battle consistently; however, Chatham would not surrender the lead.

With the score at 23-18 in favor of the Cougars, Bethany would take the next seven points, including two kills by Castro to take the first set. 

The second set was again another fight to the finish. With an early 8-8 tie, Bethany looked to jump ahead. Muhammad picked up a kill that gave Bethany the lead they would never surrender. The match would eventually tie at 17 before the Bison would go on an 8-4 run with a Castro kill to end the set at 25-21.

The Bison would take over and capture the final set with ease. When Chatham picked up their first point to trail 3-1, Bethany would take off for seven straight points from where they would never look back and win 25-10 for the match sweep.

On the day, Castro and Dylana McKenzie tallied 20 kills with Dakota McKenzie registering 18. Allie Powell (Indianapolis, Ind. /Lawrence Central) led the team with 41 assists on the afternoon while Reilly Parker (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) would pick up 30 digs in the tri-match.

With the split, the Bison sit at 6-6 (3-1, PAC) for 2016. This coming week, they host Saint Vincent on Wednesday in a match set to start at 7p.m.