Grand Rapids, Mich. — The Bethel University Men’s Volleyball team (3-7, 2-6) ended their Grand Rapids trip with a five-set loss against RV Cornerstone (10-3, 5-3) Saturday afternoon.
The Pilots had an excellent first set until Cornerstone could go a 6-1 run halfway through the set, which gave them a commanding lead of 18-11. Bethel couldn’t make the first set come back, falling 1-0 in sets.
Down 1-0, the Pilots came back with a battle in the second set. With the set tied up at 14 apiece, Bethel got three points in a row, which gave them a cushion to finish the set out on top.
The third set didn’t go Bethel’s way, as they had the lead 12-10 but let up a 5-point run from Cornerstone. The Pilots could not come back and lost the third set going down 2-1.
The fourth set didn’t seem any better as the Pilots trailed for most of it until a wild 5-point run from four attack errors and an Ace from Henrike Marcos put the Pilots up 24-23. A bit of OT at the end of the set as Bethel stayed alive with a 27-25 set to win in the fourth.
Bethel only led in the fifth set after going up 2-1. The Pilots tied it 7-7 but could not snatch the lead. Cornerstone had two three-point runs during the set, which didn’t help the Pilot offense. Cornerstone won the fifth set 15-13, which gave them the 3-2 win over the Pilots.
Marcos Henrike led the Pilots in kills with 16; right behind him was Arthur Barreto (14) and Tuna Konukcu (10). Meric Akovai recorded five block assists and one solo block, while Mustafa Yildiz had four block assists and two solo blocks. Meric Akovai had 50 assists during the match.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Bethel led in digs 50-41 but was close in blocks 10-9.
- The Pilots are now 1-3 on the road and 1-2 in Michigan this season.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots will be traveling to Indiana Tech on Feb. 21, with game time scheduled for 7:00 p.m.