Saint Francis Cougars (11-18, 4-13), 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 for their eighth sweep this season and the first Women’s Volleyball match inside the Goodman Gymnasium since the 2010’s on Saturday.
Maddy Payne led the charge with 12 kills and five blocks, supported by Haley Biedenbach’s 26 assists and two aces. Ainsley Tacke contributed eight kills and three blocks, while Paige Franz anchored the defense with 12 digs. Payne also hit the 500 career-dig mark with her two today.
The first set saw Saint Francis start with an early lead, but Bethel quickly rallied to a 9-3 run. Bethel grew to a nine-point advantage before USF chipped it down to five points before the Pilot timeout and battled to a 25-21 set one victory.
The second set tied three times at 10-10, 11-11, and 12-12 before a Pilot attack error and a Cougar kill gave USF the lead back 14-12. Bethel jumped ahead from an Ainsley Tacke kill 20-19, then hit a 5-1 run to gain the 2-0 set lead.
The third was close through 8-8 when BU went on an 8-2 run to grow to a 16-10 advantage. Two consecutive USF attack errors gave Bethel the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.
Bethel improves their series record to 18-17 and 10-7 at home after splitting the season with the Cougars and hold the fifth-seed in the Crossroads League Tournament starting on Nov. Â 9.
As the Bethel Pilots fight through the end of the regular season, they’ll look to bring the momentum from today’s match into their upcoming clash against Taylor University on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at  7 p.m. in Odle Arena.