Bison split at Geneva tri-match

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Sept. 30) – The Bethany College volleyball team split a pair of Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matches at a tri-match at Geneva College Saturday afternoon. The Bison opened the day with a 3-2 win over Westminster, before dropping a 3-0 contest to Thomas More to close the day.

THE MATCHUPS

• Match 1 Final: Bethany 3, Geneva 2 (25-14, 21-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-13 | Box Score)
• Match 2 Final: Thomas More 3, Bethany 0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-19 | Box Score)
• Records: Bethany 12-7, 5-2 PAC | Geneva 6-14, 5-2 PAC | Thomas More 14-4, 8-0 PAC
• Location: Metheny Gymnasium | Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania

BETHANY vs. GENEVA MATCH NOTES

• The opening set of the match began as a close contest, but the Bison commanded the end. The two squads were tied at 9-9, when Bethany rolled off 16 of the next 21 points to wrap up a 25-15 win.
• Bethany led 21-19 in the second set, but the Golden Tornadoes mounted a comeback and closed the set by winning six-straight points to tie the match up.
• The Green & White led 16-12 in the third set and appeared poised to collect the set win, but Geneva rallied once again The Golden Tornadoes notched nine of the next 11 points to take a 21-18 lead. 
• Bethany pulled back within one point, but could not get any closer, as Geneva closed out a 25-23 set win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The Bison dominated the early stages of the fourth set, leading by as many as 11 points. Geneva chipped away at the lead and pulled within three at 21-18, but Bethany converted on four-straight points to win the set and send the match to a final fifth set.
• Bethany opened up an 8-4 lead in the fifth set, but Geneva gained momentum and took the next five points to go ahead 9-8.
• The back-and-forth fifth set eventually saw Bethany take a 13-10 lead and Geneva rally to tie the game at 13-13.
• Following a Bethany timeout, the Bison collected a kill and a block from senior Sumayyah Muhammad (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) to close out a 15-13 win and take the match 3-2.
• Sophomore Katie Sparks (Macedonia, Ohio/Trinity) finished with a kill-dig double-double posting a team-high 18 kills with 16 digs in the win.
• Sophomore Lindsey Llewellyn (Vermillion, Ohio/Norwalk St. Paul) and Muhammad also reached double-digit kills with 16 and 13, respectively.
• Freshman Jenna Scott (New Castle, Ind./Liberty Christian) also finished with a double-double in the win. She tossed around 48 assists and added 18 digs defensively.
• Five Bison finished with double-digit dig totals, led by junior Reilly Parker (North Huntington, Pa./Norwin), who finished with 23 in the match.
• Sophomore Maggie Merren (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) tallied 19 digs and chipped in a pair of service aces.

BETHANY vs. THOMAS MORE MATCH NOTES

• The Bison kept things close and nearly claimed the second set in their 3-0 loss to preseason-PAC favorite Thomas More.
• Bethany fell behind 22-14 in the first set, but rallied back to make the score 23-19 with the help of two kills by Muhammad. Thomas More eventually closed the set out at 25-20.
• Bethany jumped out to a 16-8 lead in the second set, capped off by a Merren ace that forced a Saints timeout.
• Thomas More rallied back to tie the game at 23-23, but a kill by Sparks put the Bison at set-point. Thomas More answered back with the next three points to complete the comeback win.
• The Saints took a big lead early at 17-9, but Bethany closed the gap to four points at 23-19 on pair of Merren service aces to make things interesting. Thomas More collected the final two points to close out the 3-0 win in the match.
• Sparks and Muhammad each had 11 kills in the loss, with Sparks adding 11 digs for her second kill-dig double-double of the day.
• Scott dished out 26 assists, while Parker led the defense with 18 digs.

UP NEXT

• Bethany is on the road at Washington & Jefferson on Wednesday, October 4 for a PAC contest at 7 p.m.
• W&J will provide a live video stream of the match here.