Nov. 12 – BETHANY, W.Va. – The No. 4 Bethany College women's volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-20) win over No. 5 Penn State – Behrend in a quarterfinal matchup of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Southwest Regional Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament on Wednesday evening.
The first set was all Bison as they stormed out to a 15-4 lead, before going on to win 25-13. Leading the way for the Bison were sophomore Dylana McKenzie (Hopewell, Ohio /West Muskingum) and senior Lynsie Mandt (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne). McKenzie notched a set-high eight kills, while Mandt registered four. Junior setter Mackenzie Lauber (Mansfield, Ohio /Madison Mansfield) and junior Julia Mouch (Toledo, Ohio/Sylvania Southview) also showed out well in the first set. Lauber notched 13 assists and Mouch tallied three digs.
The second set was more of the same, as the Green & White captured a 25-15 triumph. Spearheading the victory was the dynamic duo of Dakota and Dylana Mckenzie . Dakota totaled 5 kills, while Dakota added 4. Lauber once again showed her ability tallying 14 assists, while senior Kelly Becquet (Finleyville, Pa./Ringgold) had a set-high seven digs.
Bethany went on to sweep the Lions in the third set, winning by a score of 25-20. Leading the charge included Dakota Mckenzie and Lauber. Mckenzie notched four kills, while Lauber added 13 assists.
Offensively, Bethany was led by the Mckenzie twins as well as Lauber. Dylana finished with 13 kills and Dakota posted 12. Lauber displayed her passing ability, finishing with 40 assists. Others that did well on the offensive end included freshman Sumayyah Muhammad (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) and Becquet. Muhammad had six kills, while Becquet added three service aces.
Defensively, the Bison were impressive, holding the Lions to a .132 hitting percentage. Mouch led the team with 11 digs, while Becquet finished with 10. Muhammad was a force at the net, registering three blocks.
With the win, the Bison will move on to the semifinal round where they will compete against the number one overall seed and host Tartans of Carnegie Mellon University. The time for the match has yet to be determined.
