Bethel Women’s Volleyball Snaps Evangel’s 19-Game Win Streak, Improves to 7-2
Bethel women’s volleyball stuns Evangel with commanding three-set sweep.
Bethel College’s women’s volleyball team has been dominating the conference, only losing to two teams: Oklahoma Wesleyan and McPherson College, both of which have been ranked highly in the NAIA.
Saturday’s match was no different. Evangel University (26-3, 7-0) came in off an almost perfect season so far, but the Threshers, looking sharp in pink, were ready for another nail-biting game.
The first set was strikingly won by the Threshers, with rallies forcefully ended by star outside hitter Cameron Offerle. They took the set 25-18. The second set was nerve-racking, with back-to-back rallies forcing the girls into a deuce at 24-24.
“The main difference was the execution of the game plan. Everybody was doing their role and no one had an off night. It was easy to trust each other and get the job done in three sets,” said libero Abby Koontz of Newton when asked what helped the team secure the sweep.
The next two points would decide the set. Alayna Vines had an answer for both, ending the last two rallies with stuff-blocks to take the second set 26-24. While Evangel tried to find its footing, the Threshers had already found theirs two sets earlier, ending the third and final set 25-18 for a clean sweep.
“I was really uncertain going into the game. They have a great record but haven’t played a ton of very tough teams, so it was really hard to gauge what they would actually be like. They are definitely a great team, but I was really happy with how we executed the game plan and took care of business,” said head coach Adrianna Leake on Evangel’s record going into the game.
At the beginning of the season, BC seemed to struggle to finish a match in a clean sweep. Now, they appear to have a hold on sweeping solid opponents they might have gone four or five sets with before. Their next game will be at home Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.