Pilots Rustle Up Convincing Victory over Maple Leafs
Mishawaka, Ind. – The Bethel women’s volleyball team matched up with the Goshen Maple Leafs for the second time this season on Wednesday night, and came away with a convincing 25-22, 25-16, 25-10 straight-set victory. The Pilots improve to 10-13 overall on the season, eclipsing last season’s nine-win total, and 3-7 in the Crossroads League.
The Pilots got out of the gate quickly, as Kassandra Williams provided a kill and a block early to put her team up 3-1. The Maple Leafs (9-11, 2-7) battled back to take a 7-6 lead. Payton Anderson was instrumental in a 11-5 run for the Pilots, providing four kills during the run to force a Goshen timeout with the Pilots leading 17-12. The Maple Leafs responded to pull within 18-16 to force a Pilot timeout. The Pilots fought back the surge from the visitors to take a 23-18 lead. The Maple Leafs made it close in the end but the Pilots attack did not relent, as Cassie Sears killed the first set 25-22.
Jumping out to an 8-4 in the second set, the Pilots defense forced five early errors to take the early advantage. Haley Brown and Makennize Williams put the pressure on offensively, combining for four kills to help the Pilots maintain a 14-10 lead. Bridget Downs’ two service aces gave the Pilots an 18-11 advantage. Kristen Mitchell kept up the attack for the Pilots with two kills to give the Pilots a 23-14 lead and Brown and Abby Armold provided the defense on the block to secure the second set victory by the score of 25-16.
The Pilots seemed to grow stronger as the match went on. With the third set tied at three, the Pilots notched five straight points with points from four different Pilots to take an 8-3 advantage. After a service error gave the Maple Leafs their fourth point, the Pilots again rattled off five straight points to take a commanding 13-4 lead. Abby Falcone came alive for the Pilots with three kills late to extend the advantage to 22-9 and the Pilots cruised to a 25-10 match-deciding third set win.
The Pilots outkilled the Maple Leafs 43-26 on the match while holding the Maple Leafs to a .044 hitting percentage. Payton Anderson led all players with 12 kills with a hitting percentage of .458 while also adding a match-high 19 assists. Bridget Downs served up two aces. Abby Falcone finished with a career-high 4 assists and a .800 hitting percentage.
The Pilots return to the hardwood next Friday and Saturday, October 6-7, for the Clarke (Iowa) University Tournament in Dubuque, Iowa, where they will play three matches in two days—including a showdown with No. 21 Missouri Valley—before returning to Crossroads League play for their final eight matches of the regular season.
