Bethany Falls, 3-1, in Opening Round of NCAA to Christopher Newport

HUNTINGDON, Pa. (BethanyBison.com) - The Bethany College volleyball team's road to the NCAA championship was cut short as it fell in the opening round of regionals to Christopher Newport University, 3-1, inside Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Juniata College, Friday, Nov. 9. The Bison concludes the season with their second ever trip to the NCAA tournament and an overall record of 22-10.

THE MATCHUP

• Final: Bethany 1, Christopher Newport 3 (29-27, 25-2, 28-26, 25-23) | Box Score

• Records: Bethany 22-10, Christopher Newport 26-5

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Bison and the Captains traded points early in the first set, but a 11-7 run by the Green and White provided Bethany with the largest lead of the set, 21-17. CNU held on to knot the score at 24 apiece, before putting Bethany on the defensive when a Bison attack error put the Captains ahead, 25-24. The Green and White kept the fight alive, before a pair of attack errors by Bethany gave Christopher Newport the set win, 29-27.

• Bethany got out to slow start in the second set as CNU ran out to a 5-0 lead, forcing the Bison to burn a timeout. The Captains tacked on another point via service ace before a ball handling error and attack error got the Green and White on the board, 6-2. Things started to click for Bethany it was able to cut the deficit down to three with a 12-9 run, 17-14. The Captains' attacking end, however, was too much for Bethany as CNU out-hit the Bison, .162 - .030 to win the second set, 25-21.

• The Green and White kept pace with CNU in the third set as it hit at a game-high .233 clip. Despite trailing the Captains 8-3, Bethany fought back to tie the match, 12-12. Christopher Newport pulled ahead with a 5-0 run, but the Bison matched it with one of their own to take the lead, 18-17, forcing CNU to call a timeout. Both squads traded points back and forth before they were in a similar situation as the first set, 24-24. The Bison recorded their first NCAA tournament set win thanks to back-to-back kills by junior Katie Sparks (Macedonia, Ohio/Trinity).

• Fighting to stay alive, the Bison came out hot in the fourth set, tallying a 5-2 lead over the Captains. Bethany continued to hold onto its edge, but CNU utilized a 6-1 run to pull ahead, 14-12. Playing catch up, the Bison knotted the the game back up, 19-19, with a pair of kills by freshman Alexis Swan (Peters Township, Pa./Oakland Catholic). The squads continued to trade points, but a Captain kill handed Bethany a 25-23 loss.

MATCH NOTES

• Sparks continued to be a staple for the Bison attacking end as she ended the day with her 16th double-double on the campaign with 15 kills and 15 digs. The Macedonia, Ohio native concluded the season seventh and ninth in program history with kills in a single season and career kills, respectively.

• For the day, senior Reilly Parker (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) tallied 20 digs while adding a kill and four assists to her stat line. Parker concluded her career at Bethany as one of the top defensive players in program history as her total digs of 2,506 is good for second in Bethany history.

• Senior Ashley Veryser (Cygnet, Ohio/Elmwood) was a force on both the serving line and in front of the net as she produced a game-high three service aces and three total blocks, including one solo. In her final season donning the Green and White, Versyer produced a career-high 22 aces, while coming up with 50 blocks.

• Acting primarily as a setter, senior Emily Duke (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville) stamped her name in the record book with 1,155 total assists, which is ranked finished her career with a 1,115 assists, which is slotted 11th-best in Bethany laurels. Against CNU, Duke recorded 37 assists, while stuffing her stat sheet with four kills and a block.

• Senior Keili Terry (Leesburg, Va./Saint John's) played all four sets against the Captains, tallied nine digs, a service ace, and a kill. Terry led the squad with 49 service aces this season, and wraps up her collegiate career with 171 aces, which is slotted third best in program history.