MVB Hosts Season Opener

HUMMEL FIELD HOUSE- The Bison hosted their first match as a part of the Presidents Athletic Conference. The league will have their first championship this year, and the Bison are much improved from last year's season as an NCAA Independent.

The Adrian Bulldogs came to town for the season opener. While the Bison started off much stronger than last season, Bethany dropped three straight sets. 

The first set was all Adrian 25-12. The Bison struggled to get in a rhythm at the net. They were only able to string multiple kills together twice.

However, in the second set, Bethany began to battle. The young team settled in after a tough start. Down 8-4, a kill by Alexander Hall had the gym buzzing. The squad continued to feed off the energy, going on a six point run to take a 10-8 lead. 

McKay Ginez was a menace at the net, being the primary blocker on three points for the Bison in that run. He was assisted by Logan Mills on two of those blocks.

Mills continued to play well away from the net. The Freshman served an ace to retake a lead the Bison would hold until a 19-19 standstill. 

The Bulldogs got the better of the Bison at the end of set two, clinching a 25-22 set victory.

Set three was arguably the most tense set of the match. Bethany would fall behind early, begin to build momentum, and then Adrian would keep the Bison at bay.

With the score close at 12-10, the Bulldogs found their groove and went on a massive 9-2 run to make it 21-10 in their favor. 

At that point the Green and Gold went on a run of their own on the back of Riley Burdett's 4-0 serving stretch that included his first ace of his career. The outside hitter fired up the crowd by bringing the game within three scores. 

Although the energy was high, the Bulldogs closed out the final set 25-22.

INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES:

• The Bison did not have a match in 2024 where they didn't hit negative in at least one set. In their season opener in 2025, the Bison did not hit negative in any set.

• Burdett was the leader in kills for the Bison with six, but tied Tyler Johnson with seven points.

• Johnson had a sneaky seven points with four kills, two block assists, and two aces.

• Ginez had three block assists.

• Cole Thomas and Burdett tied for the lead in digs with eight a piece

The Bison will host another home matchup before the end of the month. Carlow will come to Hummel Thursday for a 6 p.m. start.