Volleyball claims two sweeps in Maryland

Oct. 15 – OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Bethany College volleyball team earned a pair of 3-0 wins over Rowen and Stockton Saturday afternoon on the campus of Stevenson University.

The wins improve the Bison to 18-11 overall this season.

BETHANY 3, Rowan 0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-18)

The Bison rolled to a three-set sweep of Rowen in their opening match at Stevenson University's OM Gymnasium.

Senior twin sisters Dylana and Dakota McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio/West Muskingum) each recorded 11 kills, with Dylana posting a .500 hitting percentage. Senior setter Allie Powell (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) delivered 38 assists and five digs, while freshman Keili Terry (Leesburg, Va./Saint John's) led the defense with nine kills in the win.

Bethany opened up the match with a 9-4 lead, capped off by a pair of kills by senior Alexis Castro(Lorain, Ohio/Lorain), that forced a Rowan timeout. After the Profs trimmed the Bison lead to four at 12-8, the Green and White took control of the set. Bethany closed the set out by outscoring Rowen 13-3 with Terry scoring a service ace to secure the win.

Rowen kept the second set close early. Bethany held a 15-10 lead before the Profs rolled off four-straight points to pull within one point. Following a Bison timeout, Bethany responded with nine of the next 12 points to reach set-point and took a 2-0 lead in the match on a ball handling error.

The Profs jumped out to an 8-3 lead to open the third set, but the Bison rallied back to even the score a nine. The set saw six more ties scores before the Bison registered six-straight points to take a 20-15 lead. After Rowen scored the next point, the Bison closed out the match with five of the next six rallies to earn the three-set sweep.

BETHANY 3, Stockton 0 (25-14, 25-22, 28-26)

The Bison picked up an impressive 3-0 win over Stockton (17-9 overall) to close out play in Maryland Saturday evening.

Dylana and Dakota McKenzie finished with 17 and 15 kills, respectively, leading Bethany to its 18th win this season. Powell finished the match with 46 assists to setup the offense, while freshman Maggie Merren (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) tallied 17 digs to lead the defense.

Neither team created much separation early in the first set. Bethany led 10-9 before it recorded eight-consecutive points, including a trio of kills by Dakota McKenzie, to take an 18-9 lead in the set. The two squads traded points from there, allowing the Bison to claim the first set.

Stockton held a 12-10 lead in the second set, before the Bison rallied back and never relinquished the lead. Bethany recorded 10 of the next 13 points to take a 20-15 advantage. The Green and White reached set-point at 24-17, but Stockton tallied five-straight points to pull within two, 24-11. Castro finished off the set with a kill setup by Powell put Bethany up 2-0.

The third set saw 14 tie scores, before the Bison pulled out a 28-26 win to conclude the match. Bethany led 19-15 when a string of four straight points by Stockton evened the score. Neither team led by more than one point until Dylana McKenzie rolled off a trio of kills to give the Bison a 3-0 sweep.

Bethany is back on the court on Wednesday, October 19 when it heads to Geneva for a 7 p.m. matchup.