ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - The Bethel University volleyball team pulled out a pair of impressive victories on a busy Saturday in the Robertson Center gymnasium, defeating St. Olaf College 3-0 and then Muhlenberg College 3-2. The Royals and Oles tangled in a MIAC showdown with Bethel coming out with an extraordinary sweep. St. Olaf and Muhlenberg then played a five-set match with the Mules coming out with a 3-2 victory. The visitors from Muhlenberg, located in Allentown, Pennsylvania then engaged in a thrilling five-set match with the Royals, as Bethel came out on top.
St. Olaf entered the day with an impressive 13-2 record on the season, 3-1 in the MIAC, just like the Royals. But it was Bethel who proved to be the better team as the Royals took the match in straight sets by scores of 25-22, 27-25 and 25-11. A 5-0 run early in the first set sparked Bethel to a lead before St. Olaf used a 9-2 run to pull back within one at 17-16. The Oles then took leads of 21-20 and 22-21 before Bethel ran off four unanswered points to take the first set 25-22, finishing things off an a
Tina Hoppe kill. Set two was a back-and-forth tight affair all the way through. The Oles took a lead at 21-18 but Bethel came back after a timeout to tie things up at 21 all on consecutive kills by
Brooke Olstad, Macie Gavis and
Maria Claflin. The Oles would regather to maintain a one point lead though all the way to 25-24, before Bethel again rallied with three straight points to take the second set at 27-25, igniting the Robertson Center crowd. After the heartbreaking defeats in the first two sets for the Oles, the Royals would use a 9-0 run in the third set to take a 12-4 lead and salt the match away, going on to a 25-11 win.
Tina Hoppe led Bethel with 13 kills while
Hannah Wilhite had 33 assists and a team high four blocks.
Allie Fauth had 13 digs and
Ellie Hoyt contributed 10 digs.
Brooke Olstad posted eight kills, three service aces and nine digs.
The Royals then waited for the Muhlenberg Mules, a team that is coming off a 24-6 campaign in 2017 and started off 11-3 this year. Muhlenberg visited St. Thomas on Friday night, falling 3-1 to the Tommies but where able to rebound and beat the Oles to improve to 12-4. Muhlenberg took an exciting first set by a 27-25 score, a set that saw multiple runs by both teams but in the end Muhlenberg pulled it out by outscoring Bethel 5-2 down the stretch. The Royals bounced back with a pair of convincing 25-15 wins in sets two and three, controlling throughout. The Mules showed what they are made of though and did not give up, taking set four 25-20 to force the fifth set. The deciding set saw Muhlenberg jump out to a early 4-1 lead. A timeout by Bethel and coach
Gretchen Hunt settled the Royals down and like they have done so many times already this season, they responded. A 5-2 run for Bethel tied the match up at 6-6 and the two teams traded points until the Royals went on a 4-0 run to gain control of the match at 11-8. After Muhlenberg drew to 11-9 on a service error, the Royals ended things quickly with another 4-0 run to win 15-9.
Hoppe had another big game for the Royals, leading the way with 15 kills and two service aces to go along with nine digs.
Macie Gavic and
Maria Claflin also posted double digit kills at 11 and 12 each.
Hannah Wilhite had 43 assists.
Allie Fauth had an amazing game in the back row with 33 digs and
Ellie Hoyt contributed 14 digs and five assists.
Bethel is now 17-3 on the season, 4-1 in the MIAC. The Royals next action will be a huge showdown on Homecoming Friday night with the Bennies of Saint Benedict. The Bennies currently stand at 4-0 in the MIAC and 14-5 overall. The match will begin at 7 p.m. on October 5th.
