Bison split on final day of CMU Tournament

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Sept. 24) – The Bethany College volleyball team split a pair of matches on the final day of the Carnegie Mellon University Doubletree Tournament Saturday afternoon. The Bison fell to Randolph-Macon 3-0, before it defeated Arcadia 3-0 in the final match of the event.

BETHANY 3, ARCADIA 0 (25-20, 25-9, 25-17)

Bethany improved to 8-9 overall this season in its 3-0 win over Arcadia. Senior Dylana McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio/West Muskingum) led the Bison with nine kills, her sister Dakota McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio/West Muskingum) added eight, and senior Alexis Castro (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain) was effective with seven kills on nine attacks (.778 hitting percentage).

Sophomore Emily Duke (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville) and senior Allie Powell (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) each totaled double-digit assists with 15 and 14, respectively.

After each team split the first four points of the first set, Bethany claimed 11 of the next 15 to open up a 15-9 lead. Arcadia battled back with a string of points to cut the Bison lead to 16-13, forcing a timeout, but Bethany never allowed Arcadia to get any closer and claimed the first set 25-20.

The Bison had arguably their best set of the season in a 25-9 second set win. Bethany finished with a .522 hitting percentage and limited Arcadia to a negative-.111 percentage in the second set. Dylana McKenzie helped the Bison race out to a 6-2 lead in the set with a kill that forced an Arcadia timeout. Bethany kept all of the momentum, extending its lead to 19-8 before another Arcadia timeout stopped play. McKenzie and freshman Pazia Scott (Pittsburgh, Pa./Gateway) finished off the set with a block to give the Bison a 2-0 match lead.

Bethany closed out the match with a 25-17 win in the third set to complete the win. The Bison marched out to an 11-5 lead early on, before Arcadia answered with a quick 5-3 spurt to pull within four, 14-10. Bethany rolled from there, outscoring its opponent 11-7, including kills from Dakota McKenzie and Castro to close out the match.

The Bison posted a .253 hitting percentage for the match, which is the second-highest single match mark of the season.

RANDOLPH-MACON 3, BETHANY 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-13)

The Bison opened play on Saturday with a 3-0 loss to Randolph-Macon at the CMU Doubletree Tournament.

Dakota McKenzie led Bethany with nine kills, while Powell finished with a team-high 18 assists. Defensively, both McKenzie and freshman Maggie Merren (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) tallied double-digit digs with 16 and 15, respectively, while junior Sumayyah Muhammad (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) added four blocks (two solo) in the loss.

The opening set was a back-and-forth affair, with neither side asserting dominance. With the game tied at 16, the Bison went on a 5-1 run to take a 21-17 lead. Castro helped spur the run with a pair of kills, but Randolph-Macon responded with eight of the final nine points to take a 25-22 win in game one.

Randolph-Macon raced out to an 11-5 lead in the second set, before a four-point spurt pulled the Bison back into the set at 11-9. The Yellow Jackets quickly re-established their lead and were two points away from taking the set with a 13-6 run. The Bison responded again with five of the next six points, but an attack error dashed any hopes for a comeback.

Randolph-Macon closed the match out with a 25-13 win in the third set, in which it hit .321 compared to the negative-.115 posted by the Bison.

The Bison return to action on Tuesday, September 27 when they head to Washington, Pennsylvania for matches against PAC-rival Washington & Jefferson at 4 p.m. and Muskingum at 6 p.m.