MVB Wins First Match in Program History

HUMMEL FIELD HOUSE- Bethany's Men's Volleyball team won their first match in program history. The Bison swept the Carlow Celtics to secure their first win in the inaugural Presidents Athletic Conference men's volleyball season, as well as Head Coach Chuck Shoemaker's first win at Bethany College.

Bethany set a program record with 25 aces from the service line. Despite being tied for the least amount of sets played (six total sets), their performance catapults them to the top of the conference in team service aces and aces per set.

The first set was indicative of Bethany's serving success. Riley Burdett spotted three aces to kick off the Bison strong. 

After a service error, Rylan Trapp took his opportunity at the line to continue Bethany's fast start. On the back of Trapp's five aces, the Bison bolted out to a 14-1 lead. 

Bethany continued to dominate the first set with a 25-4 finish. A pair of aces from Alexander Hall and Baylen Loosier brought the team total to an impressive 12 aces in the first set alone.

The second set wasn't quite as dominant as the Bison fell into a minor slump. They still managed to hang with the Celtics, turning things around at the midway point. 

The Bison were down 12-9 before going on a seven point run. Scottie Fletcher was the man with the hot serve, which he later passed to Tyler Johnson. 

Johnson took over the serve tied at 18 after a few Bison errors. The Green and Gold ran the table going on another seven point run to lock up a 25-18 win. 

Trapp had a solo block to seal the deal, and the crowd began to prepare to witness history unfold.

In set three, Hall slammed a kill to earn himself the right to serve. The 6'3 freshman landed three more aces to stretch the Bison lead to 10-2 before Carlow called a timeout.

Regardless of the pause in action, Bethany didn't cool down.

Xavier Cole joined the ace parade with two consecutive scores, and tension began to build.

Alexander Blair, an essential part of the team last season, was subbed in and connected with the ground for an ace to kick off five straight Bison points.

Poetically, as if the actions of the game were pre-written, the biggest pieces of the Bethany Bison's first ever season came together to finish off the Celtics.

Point 23: Blair set up Johnson for the 23rd point.

Point 24: Johnson serves an ace.

Point 25: The captain, McKay Ginez, extends for a solo block for the final point of the game.

The Bison win.

INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES:

• The 25 aces were split among eight athletes, with Trapp and Hall leading the charge with five a piece.

• Logan Mills had 15 assists.

• Trapp was the leading scorer. He recorded a stat in every major category with five aces, three kills, a solo block, an assist, and a dig.

• Ginez had a program record of a .833 hit percentage over the course of the entire game.

The Bison will play their first road game of the year when they travel to Mount Vernon Nazarene next Thursday. First serve is set for 6 p.m.