Bethany defeats Thiel, 3-1

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

BETHANY, W.Va. (Oct. 6) – The Bethany College volleyball team earned a 3-1 win (25-12, 21-25, 25-18, 25-20) over Thiel in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) match Friday night inside the Hummel Field House.

THE MATCHUP

• Final: Bethany 3, Thiel 1 (25-12, 21-25, 25-18, 25-20 | Box Score)
• Records: Bethany 14-7, 7-2 PAC | Thiel 8-13, 2-8 PAC
• Location: Hummel Field House | Bethany, West Virginia

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set was tied at 10-10, before Bethany began to distance themselves from the Tomcats. The Bison closed the set with 15 of the final 17 points, including a run of nine points with junior Keili Terry (Leesburg, Va./Saint John's) serving.
• Bethany had a 12-10 lead in the second set, but fell behind at 18-14. The Bison pulled back within one point at 18-17, but the Tomcats held off the hosts and evened the match up with a 25-20 win in the second set.
• The Green & White commanded the third set, taking an 8-2 lead on the serves of sophomore Maggie Merren (Oregon, Ohio/Clay). The Bison pushed their lead to as many as eight points at 12-4 and Thiel only came as close as four points in the 25-18 Bethany win. 
• Thiel led 11-8 in the fourth set, forcing an early timeout from the Bison sideline. Bethany recovered and rallied back to tie the match at 11 and built a five-point lead at 20-15. Senior Sumayyah Muhammad (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) put the finishing touches on the win with a pair of kills to propel Bethany to their 14th win this season.

MATCH NOTES

• Sophomore Katie Sparks (Macedonia, Ohio/Trinity) led the Bison offense with 18 kills and added nine digs defensively.
• Muhammad and sophomore Lindsey Llewellyn (Vermillion, Ohio/Norwalk St. Paul) each finished with 12 kills, with Muhammad adding four blocks (one solo) and three aces.
• Freshman Jenna Scott guided the offense with 41 assists, while tallying 11 digs on defense for a double-double.
• Junior Reilly Parker (North Huntington, Pa./Norwin) collected 25 digs to lead the defense.
• The Bison finished the match with an impressive 15 service aces. Terry notched a career-high seven, while Merren added four.
• Bethany as a team hit .538 in the third set with 15 kills on 26 attempts (one error).

UP NEXT

• The Bison are at home again tomorrow, Saturday, October 7 when they host both Saint Vincent and Grove City for a PAC tri-match.
• A live stream of all three matches will be available here. Grove City and Bethany will get the day started at 11 a.m.