Bethel volleyball gets two sweeps, fourth KCAC Defender of the Week award
Bethel volleyball gets two sweeps, fourth KCAC Defender of the Week award
The Threshers sweep York and Southwestern to continue their 11-game win streak as Crow earns another KCAC Defender of the Week honor.
The Thresher volleyball team stacked two more conference wins on their 11-game win streak, sweeping both York University and Southwestern College in three sets.
Despite the Threshers being on this streak, they continue to stay grounded and are focused on taking this season one step at a time.
“I was happy with the level of focus and intensity throughout the entire match for both games,” said head coach Adriana Leake. “There were times that we had pretty big leads, but our sense of urgency remained the same. I thought we played at a high level the past two games.”
One player who has been stepping up huge this year is freshman Darla Crow. Crow continues to lead the nation in blocks and is collecting KCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors like they are trading cards. Crow recently earned her fourth such honor for her play against York and Southwestern, adding 14 more blocks to her nation-leading 130.
Along with their young defensive juggernaut, the Threshers employ a very balanced offensive attack, which was led by three hitters the past week. Crow, Kylah Carter, and Cam Offerle led the team in kills against York and Southwestern with 17, 17, and 18 respectively throughout the two games.
“It is easy to have high energy at times and low energy at others, but the best teams are able to be consistent,” said junior Maddie Chupp from Goshen, Ind. “I think that we have gotten to the point where we trust each other to do our jobs well, which allows for everyone to stay collected. If someone is having an off game it's okay because I know that someone else will step up.”
The Threshers’ success from last season is carrying over, but they are constantly looking for new ways to stay in the present and never get ahead of themselves.
“It's been a while since we've seen long rallies, lead changes, things like that in a match,” said Leake. “My focus for these next few weeks is figuring out how I can make practices as hard and uncomfortable as possible for my team. I'll challenge them to do that for each other too.”
Looking to their next game against McPherson, the Threshers know that they still have a lot to prove, and are hungry to do so. First serve against the Bulldogs will take place on Wednesday at 7 p.m.