Fort Wayne, Ind. — The Pilots faced their first NAIA top 25 opponent in #13 Indiana Tech on Tues. night where the 3-8, 2-7 Bethel Pilots fell to the 8-6, 7-1 Indiana Tech Warriors 3-1.
Set one had four lead changes, with the first coming from two back-to-back kills from freshman Arthur Barreto to tie the set for the first time 3-3.
The Pilots took the lead 5-3 off two attack errors by the Warriors but climbed back to a 6-6 tie on a kill by Indiana Tech’s Raekwon Rodgers.
The Pilots took a seven-point lead at 14-7 on a kill by Tuna Konukcu and a Warrior attack error but ultimately lost the set 25-22.
The second set was also a dog fight that was tied multiple times. Konukcu tied the set at 10-10, and Barreto gave the Pilots the 11-10 lead.
The set came down to the wire at 24, all on an Ace by Ege Gul and an attack error by Marcos Henrike. After extra points, the Pilots grinded out the set win 27-25.
The Warriors held the lead the entire third set, but the Pilots came close to tieing when the Warriors had five straight errors to make it 17-16. Mustafa Yildiz kept the score within two points at 23-19 with a kill, and Erik Malek made it 23-20, but the Pilots would lose set three, 25-22.
In set four, the Pilots were playing from behind again, and the Warriors would maintain a comfortable lead until Barreto made it 22-18 late. An attack error by the Warriors would bring the Pilots within two, and Indiana Tech would finish the job 25-21 and take the match 3-1.
Arthur Barreto and Tuna Konukcu led the offense with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. The big 6’7 freshman Mustafa Yildiz led the team in blocks with seven, and Marcos Henrike was three digs short of tying his career-high 14 digs. Meric Akovali
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
The Pilots played 19 sets in the last seven days, with three straight five-set matches last week.
Bethel had one set hitting about .100, which was set two at a .323 hitting percentage.
Despite having 27 assists, Meric Akovali is ranked 11th in the NAIA in total assists (380) and 23rd in the NAIA in assists per set (8.64).
NEXT TIME OUT
Bethel will get their rematch with the Warriors on Fri. Feb. 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the Goodman Gymnasium. The match will be on the Bethel Sports Network starting at 6:45 p.m. for the pregame show.