GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. —The RV Bethel Men’s Volleyball Team (1-0) has officially posted their best season start in program history, sweeping the RV Cornerstone University Golden Eagles (1-2, 0-1) 3-0 on Tuesday in Mol Arena. Bethel had previously dropped all six program matchups with the WHAC Opponent.
Santana Roybal-Benson totaled ten kills for the Pilots while hitting at a startling 0.750 percentage. A menace at the net, he led the team in blocks (five) alongside returning Opposite Christian Woumnga (five).
Freshman Libero Eduardo Kerkoski made an impressive Pilot debut, co-leading the team in digs (7) alongside Setter McGwire Eigenrauch (7). Eigenrauch totaled 24 assists, and led the team in aces (two).
The Pilots saw an early 2-0 lead following consecutive attacking errors by Cornerstone. The Golden Eagles answered with a three-point run to tie it up 6-6 with an ace.
Santana Roybal-Benson and Christian Woumnga halted Cornerstone’s offense mid-set, closing two consecutive blocks for a 13-9 lead.
As the conclusion of the first set approached, both teams traded short runs until Bethel led 25-24 with Woumnga’s kill, assisted by McGwire Eigenrauch.
With both teams struggling to land a serve in the court, Bethel found themselves up 26-25, and put the set away with a devastating block by McGwire Eigenrauch and Jibbe Boeren (27-25).
The Pilots proceeded to dominate the rest of the evening, not letting up to claim set two by an impressive margin (25-16), and set three by double digits (25-14).
Bethel’s blocking (12) more than doubled that of the Golden Eagles (5), and the Pilots’ consistent defense (27 digs) out-performed that of Cornerstone (19 digs).
The new winning streak over the WHAC Opponent comes at an exciting time, as Bethel won’t faceoff with the Golden Eagles in conference play next season.
Today, the Crossroads League announced the addition of Men’s Volleyball, in which the Bethel Pilots will compete against Goshen, Huntington, Indiana Wesleyan, Mount Vernon Nazarene, and Spring Arbor.
The Bethel Pilots will next host the Judson University Eagles in the Goodman Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 31. Reserves will compete at noon with the Varsity to follow at 3 PM.