Bethel Volleyball Battles Past St. Mary in Five-Set Thriller
Threshers Advance to KCAC Semifinals After Hard-Fought 3–2 Victory
After meeting 10 days earlier in Leavenworth, the St Mary Spires would travel to North Newton to take on the Bethel Threshers volleyball team. The Threshers come into the conference tournament as the two seed, while the Spires came in at the seventh seed.
St Mary would open by taking the first three points in the first set, but Bethel would even it up at 3-3. This looked to be a great game after both teams came out battling back and forth. The Threshers would go on to win the set 25-18, taking the lead 1-0. The start for set two would be similar for the Spires, who would jump to an early lead, forcing Bethel to fight. During the second set, there were seven lead changes and 12 times where the score was tied.
“It was exciting! Saint Mary’s put up a fight, but at the end of the day, everyone on our team stepped up in big ways at crucial times.” Said junior Dylan Cochran from Valley Center. “Our bench, especially, has been so huge for us the whole season. We are so lucky to have such supportive teammates. I think we easily have the best bench in the KCAC.”
St Mary would take a close, fought set 25-23, evening the score at 1-1. Set three would be similar to set two, and the Spires would also edge out Bethel 25-23, taking the lead in the match 2-1. Bethel had to win the last two sets to advance to the conference tournament semi-finals. The Threshers would jump out to a 13-2 lead in set four, forcing the Spires to use both timeouts. Bethel would take the set 25-14.
Going into set five, both teams would play lights out. Bethel would take the crucial set five by a score of 15-12, winning the match 3-2. Cameron Offerle ended the night with 13 kills, Cochran with two aces, Darla Crow with seven blocks, Dalaina Schutte with 41 assists, and Abby Koontz with 18 digs.
“I told the girls- we’re tested and have proven that we can handle adversity.” Said coach Adriana Leake. “We proved that not only can we handle the pressure, but we win those games.”
The Threshers advance to the semifinal, where they will take on the third-seeded Evangel Valor in McPherson at 4 p.m. on Friday. After a strong showing in the previous round, Bethel enters the matchup with confidence and hopes to secure a spot in the national tournament, continuing their impressive postseason run.