Bethel volleyball falls in regular season finale
The Threshers fell to Oklahoma Wesleyan on Senior Day and now shift their focus to the conference tournament.
The Bethel volleyball team dropped its last game of the regular season on Saturday to Oklahoma Wesleyan in four sets on Senior Day.
With their loss against the Eagles, the Threshers finished the regular season in third place in the KCAC and will have a first-round bye in the conference postseason tournament.
“We take every game as a lesson,” said head coach Adriana Leake. “Finishing third means we don't have to play on Tuesday, so that gives us four solid days to work on some specific things we want to improve and then just continue to stay strong in areas like attacking when we're out of system and blocking, which are huge strengths for us. We also celebrated our seniors so there’s a lot of love and gratefulness as we enter the tournament.”
The Threshers celebrated seven seniors before their match against the Eagles, including Harlie Hunton, Julie Wilhite, Kaity Shima, Katey Wilhelm, Kylah Carter, Lauren McCreary, and Tessa Lies.
Multiple of these seniors led the team in statistical categories including Carter in kills with nine, Shima in assists with 17 and Wilhite in service aces with four. Juniors Mia Roman and Jordan Boone led the way in digs with 12 and blocks with five respectively.
Despite suffering only their second loss since Sep. 1, the Threshers’ confidence is not wavering and they are going to be ready to face the winner of Evangel vs. Avila on Friday.
“Our big focus will be practicing with a game-like mentality so we can be prepared under pressure,” said Leake. “We're a great team, but being great when the game is on the line is what will matter most this weekend.”
The Threshers have beaten both of their possible second-round opponents already this season, taking down Evangel in five sets at home and Avila in four sets in Kansas City. That doesn’t mean Bethel is taking either opponent lightly, however. Rather, the Threshers are using their extra time to gather their focus, ready to make a deep tournament run against familiar opponents.
The Threshers’ next game will take place in Hutchinson at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. They will take on the winner of Evangel and Avila which will be decided on Tuesday.