MANHATTAN — The Bethel College volleyball team opened the season with a win over Manhattan Christian in three games Tuesday in Manhattan.
Bethel won the match 25-17, 25-20, 25-16.
Manhattan Christian placed third in the National Christian College Athletic Association Division II tournament last year.
“It was great to finally get out on the court and see someone other than our own teammates on the other side,” Bethel coach Chad Schilling said. “Manhattan Christian is a great team to start our season with. They are very sound fundamentally, and they play solid defense. Coach (Ray) Sanders does a great job there. ... In the first set, we started a little slow. It took us some time to get into a rhythm but, once we did, we were able to finish out the set in strong form, winning it 25-17.
“The second set started out much the same way as the first set but Manhattan Christian got some big blocks and got some momentum on their side. We had to battle back after being down late in the set and eventually got the second set win, 25-20. We played our best ball of the night in the third set. We were able to score in runs taking advantage of our defense and converting points. We closed out the match with a 25-16 third set win.”
Beth Thiesen led the Threshers with 10 kills. Maggie Stephenson had nine kills with no errors. Alyssa Schrag had 18 assists, followed by Morgan Peters with 19. Bethel had 59 digs, led by Addi Wolf with 19 and Whitney Hiebner with 11.
Bethel plays Friday and Saturday at the Skullcracker Challenge in Muskogee, Okla. The Threshers play host Bacone and Central Baptist Friday, followed by Central Christian and William Jewell Saturday.
“I’m hoping to finalize the lineup and at the same time get some freshman some time on the court,” Schilling said.
