Pilots Win in Straight Sets Against TIU
Mishawaka, Ind. – The Bethel College women’s volleyball team won in straight sets over Trinity International (Ill.) 25-23, 25-22, 25-21 on Tuesday afternoon to improve to 3-2 on the season and win their first match at home.
The Pilots got off to a slow start in the first set, trailing early 10-6 on six early errors. After a quick timeout by Head Coach Katie Weiss, the Pilots could not stem the Trinity International tide on another six errors to go down 17-10, the largest deficit of the day. Another timeout by Weiss set the tone as Kristen Mitchell (JR/Indianapolis, Ind.) killed the Trojan serve. Kathryn Novy (JR/Algonquin, Ill.) added two kills sandwiched a Mitchell service ace to pull off six straight points to pull within 17-16. After a point by the visiting Trojans, the Pilots rolled off four consecutive points on a pair of Erin Carlos (SR/Millersburg, Ind.) service aces to go up 19-18. The first set went back-and-forth until Haley Brown (SR/Goshen, Ind.) capped a 3-0 run with a pair of kills and Payton Anderson (JR/New Castle, Ind.) finished off the first set in the Pilots’ favor 25-23.
The Pilots were in control for most of the second set. Playing to a 7-7 tie early, the Pilots turned up the heat with Kassandra Wiliams and Brown recording multiple points to jump out to a 18-11 lead. The Trojans would not go quietly as they pulled to within 23-22 but Anderson staved off the visitors while Abby Armold (FR/Valparaiso, Ind.) and Novy blocked the Trojan attack to seal the second set 25-22.
Sloppy play early in the third set found the Pilots down 5-2 early, but Armold scored four consecutive points for the Pilots to tie the set at 6-6. A see-saw affair for the next few moments saw Trinity International take a 12-10 lead but captains Anderson and Brown showed their leadership and helped the Pilots to 10 of the next 11 points to take a commanding 20-13 lead. The Trojans got close at 24-20 but could not overcome the Pilots and the hosts took the third set 25-21 to sweep Trinity International.
“Today was a great win at home,” stated Coach Weiss. “We won despite making a lot of unforced rrors. Our goal now is to limit those errors and improve on little things. These girls are hard-working and I’m excited to see where this season takes us.”
Haley Brown struck early and often to lead the match with 12 kills, while Kassandra Williams (JR/Lafayette, Ind.) and Payton Anderson added 9 each. Erin Carlos continued to pace the Pilots with 18 digs and Katie Easter (JR/Logansport, Ind.) led the way with 19 assists. Abby Armold topped the Pilots with 4 of their 11 service aces on the afternoon.
The Pilots have a quick turnaround and face IU South Bend tomorrow evening at 7pm in the Wiekamp Athletic Center in Mishawaka.