Bethel 3, Yellowjackets 0
Following a four-set defeat Tuesday at UW-River Falls, the Yellowjacket volleyball team was looking to climb back into the win column and get on a roll prior to Saturday's U.M.A.C. opener. The opponent, Bethel University, posed one of the stiffest tests the Yellowjackets have seen early in 2018, as the Royals came into the match with a 7-2 record and had some impressive wins, including a five-setter against U.M.A.C. powerhouse Northwestern.
And Friday night in Arden Hills, Minn., it was all Bethel, as the hosts rolled to a 3-0 victory over the Yellowjackets.
Bethel started fast, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set. The Royals kept the pedal to the metal and built up a nine-point lead before the Yellowjackets started to battle back, winning four straight points, two of them courtesy of
Taylor Howe (Webster, Wis./Webster) aces to cut into the deficit. The Royals answered and built the lead back up to nine, 20-11, but the Yellowjackets again answered. Defenders
Maya Callaway (Duluth, Minn./East) and
Karlie Leif (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) got things going, serving the Yellowjackets to six out of seven points, eventually closing the gap to a single point, 22-21. That was as close as the Yellowjackets would get, and Bethel closed out the first set 25-22.
The Yellowjackets got off to a strong start in the second set, opening up an early lead before Bethel got on a roll and moved ahead. In one stretch the Royals took seven of ten points to lead 17-10. Like in the first set, the Yellowjackets battled back, and a kill from
Cami Sletta (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) saw them pull even at 20-20. A Yellowjacket service error would break the tie and Bethel would take the final five points of the set, winning it 25-20 to move ahead 2-0.
Kills from Sletta and
Brylee Colligan (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) gave the Yellowjackets a 2-0 lead to start the third set, but the Royals came roaring back and quickly erased the Yellowjacket lead. For the second time in the match Bethel won seven of ten points and pulled away. With a six-point lead the Royals took six of the next seven points and were on the cusp of victory. Up nine, Bethel got a kill on match point to finish off the third set 25-15 and the match 3-0.
Howe paced the Yellowjacket offense, finishing the match with 11 kills. She was the only Yellowjacket to reach double figures. Sletta had seven kills, while
Ashlee Bayer (Cameron, Wis./Cameron) and
Anna Ribich (Biwabik, Minn./Mesabi East) each registered five.
Emily VerWay (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) had 30 of the 32 Yellowjacket assists, and also had 10 digs, second only to
Karlie Leif (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) who had 12.
Up Next: The Yellowjackets (5-5, 0-0 U.M.A.C.) move into conference play with a road match at North Central Saturday, September 15. The match begins at 2:00 p.m.
