Bethel College Volleyball Sweeps Tabor at Home First Conference Opener
Thresher volleyball sweeps Tabor to start conference play with a 1-0 record.
Wednesday night, Bethel College (BC) Volleyball had their conference opener against rival Tabor College in Thresher Gym. The stands were packed, ranging from Tabor fans to Bethel fans, with the Stone Zone out-cheering the rival Blue Jays section. With Tabor being 4-9 overall, Thresher volleyball seemed in high spirits heading into the game.
“I’m excited to play our first conference match at home. I know they’re a pretty decent team, but there’s no nervousness from us.” Said sophomore Elena Vanderweg, from Newton.
The Threshers struck first, with the first set ending 25-11, hitting .529 percent as a team. Bethel kept fans on their toes during the second set and ultimately won it with a score of 25–20. Putting the nail in the coffin, they ended the third set 25-17. Bethel volleyball achieved its first sweep of the conference, ending the match with a .299 hitting percentage as a team.
Outside hitter Cameron Offerle recorded 12 kills, 7 digs, and 1 ace. Landree Merriman and Langley Barger added 7 kills each. Middle blocker Darla Crow had 6 blocks, and Vanderweg contributed with 17 assists in her first varsity start of the season.
Head Coach Adrianna Leake seemed as excited about the sweep as the fans did:
“Sometimes a win can still not feel good whenever you don’t play well, but I felt like that win, we played well. We did our job. A lot of things that we’ve been working on, I saw that play out. We had been working on blocking, and our timing was awesome. Tough to beat whenever we have games like that.”
With a 1-0 conference record, Thresher volleyball continues to rise to the occasion. Next up on the schedule is the no. 9 Oklahoma Wesleyan at Thresher gym on Saturday, with the game starting at 3:00 p.m.