Bethel volleyball sweeps Sterling on senior night
The Threshers honored seven seniors in the sweep led by Roman, Offerle, and Ownbey
The Bethel College volleyball team swept the Sterling Warriors on Bethel’s senior night, a night that honored seven seniors, and brought the Threshers’ record to 9-2 in the KCAC.
The seven seniors who were honored were Jordan Boone, Kylah Carter, Maddie Chupp, Laci Ownbey, Mia Roman, Brooke Russell, and team manager Ashton Roth. This senior class is now enjoying their third straight 20 win season, as they sit at 21-7 after the senior night against Sterling.
“I was hired in April before their freshman year,” said Head Coach Adriana Leake. “It took a lot of guts for them to stick around. I challenged them all along the way that first year that Bethel volleyball would be great again and they had a choice to stay on the bus or get off. Lots of other players that year chose to get off, but these seniors stuck around, worked so hard to develop into the players they are now, and helped to create the amazing culture we have today. They deserve every bit of the turnaround success we've had, they've earned it. I'll forever be grateful to them for being the foundation and not only believing in what I told them we could be, but making it happen.”
The Threshers were led on offense by senior setter Roman who had 31 assists in the match. Roman is the current reigning KCAC Setter of the Week after the Threshers’ wins last week. The Thresher hitters hit .204 on the match, with Cameron Offerle leading with 14 kills, and Ownbey added 10 kills.
“I think our biggest improvement has been our ability to finish and close out close games,” said Coach Leake. “In the second set we struggled offensively and the set ended up being really close. We've proven to ourselves now that we finish those games on top. Even though it was close it felt like we had control and no doubt we would get it done.”
The Threshers struggled in the second set despite the win, hitting only .021 in the set, before bouncing back and hitting .438 in the third and final set.
“Our team has seen the most improvement in our serving and defense,” said senior Carter, from Houston, Tex. “We have been so aggressive from the service line and our defense has followed right behind which has played a huge role in our wins lately.”
The Threshers defense had another big night against the Warriors, holding them to a .040 hitting percentage in the match. Darla Crow once again led the Threshers in blocks at the net, with six. Crow recently earned both KCAC and NAIA Defensive Player of the Week honors for her defense at the net. Mia Roman also added five blocks for the Threshers. Abby Koontz held down the back row, with a team-high 13 digs.
“This team’s biggest strength is our connection we have formed as a team,” said senior Boone, from Gardner. “We don’t see each other as just teammates which makes it a lot more fun to play together. It makes us want to play for each other rather than ourselves.”
The Threshers look to continue their successful season on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1 pm in Thresher Gym versus Avila University, in what will be Bethel’s last regular season home game this season.