Willamette Battles 12th-Ranked Bethel, but Bearcats Fall in Three Sets

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. -- The Willamette University volleyball team put up a quality battle in its first two sets against nationally ranked Bethel University (Minn.), on Friday, Sept. 2, but the Regals edged out the Bearcats in both sets on their way to a 3-0 victory. Bethel won, 28-26, 25-22, 25-14, while improving to 2-0 on the season. Willamette fell to 0-2.

The match was part of the Bethel Invitational, which the Regals are hosting this weekend at the Robertson Center. Bethel is ranked #12 in the NCAA Division III Preseason Poll released by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVC).

Willamette will complete the tournament with two matches on Saturday, Sept. 3. The Bearcats will take on Wartburg College (Iowa) at 10 a.m. CDT/8 a.m. PDT and will play against University of Wisconsin-Superior at 2 p.m. CDT/12 a.m. PDT.

Bethel gained a 3-1 advantage to start the first set, but Willamette eventually tied the score at 5-5. The Bearcats moved in front, 6-5, on a service ace by Kunani Tuttle (Fr., S/OPP, Anahola, HI/Kappa HS).

A 6-2 run by the Regals gave BU an 11-8 lead, but the Bearcats countered with a 6-0 run of their own to surge back in front 14-11. Following a timeout, Bethel put up three points in a row to tie the score.

The teams were tied four more times, before Willamette took a 22-20 lead on kills by Alexa Dowdell (Sr., MH/OPP, Mililani, HI/Maryknoll HS) and Lauren Stiles (Fr., OH, Altadena, CA/Flintridge Preparatory School).

A kill by Karin Canakes cut WU's lead to a single point, but the Regals followed with a bad set and an attacking error, as the Bearcats extended the lead to 24-21.

Bethel responded with a 3-0 run to keep the game going. The teams also were tied at 25-25, before Bethel took a 26-25 lead. Willamette tied the game again with a combo block by Madison Haley (Fr., MH/OPP, Truckee, CA/Tahoe Truckee HS) and Jennifer Lane (Fr., MH/OH, Salinas, CA/Notre Dame HS).

The Regals won the set by scoring the next two points to break the tie. Kristin Stern supplied a kill to give the hosts a 27-26 advantage, and a bad set by Willamette provided the winning point.

WU took a 5-1 lead to begin the second set. Three of the five points were scored on blocks at the net -- with Haley earning three block assists, while Stiles, Dowdell and Kendall Fox (Fr., OH, Dupont, WA/Steilacoom HS) each earned one.

Bethel countered with a 9-2 run for a 10-7 margin. The Regals later held leads of 18-14 and 21-15, but the Bearcats rallied. A kill by Dowdell pulled WU within 21-18. Later, a ball-handling error by the Regals allowed Willamette to cut the lead to 22-20.

The teams exchanged the next two points, and then a kill by Haley reduced WU's deficit to 23-22. Katie Lubben of Bethel earned a kill for the next point, and Stern and Carlie Hoppe followed with a combo block for the Regals to end the set.

In the third set, Bethel built a 9-1 lead and maintained a solid margin on its way to a 25-14 win.

Steren led Bethel during the overall match with 17 kills. She recorded a .481 hitting percentage. Hoppe tacked on seven kills. Holly Ellwanger produced 22 assists and Lubben added 20. The Regals hit .281 as a team.

Willamette's top attacker was Dowdell with nine kills. Haley contributed eight kills. Kaylen Higa (So., LIB/DS, Mililani, HI/Punahou School) led all players with 16 digs, while Jennifer Lane (Fr., MH/OH, Salinas, CA/Notre Dame HS) earned eigth digs. Tynan Gable (Jr., S, Woodinville, WA/Woodinville HS) recorded 15 assists.

The Bearcats earned 7.0 teams total blocks. Haley led the way with six block assists. Lane added three block assists.