LEBANON, Tenn. – After dropping their first match of the season Tuesday night at Union the Lady Wildcats bounced back with a 3-0 win at Cumberland University Thursday night. The Lady Cats won 25-20, 25-16 and 26-24.
It was the 23rd meeting between the two programs with Bethel holding a 15-8 margin in the series. Bethel beat CU in McKenzie on August 30 taking a 3-0 victory. Bethel moved to 4-1 while CU dropped to 2-5 on the season.
The first set began as a back-and-fourth affair as the Phoenix and Wildcats were tied eight times in the early goings. The Phoenix trailed by just one point at 12-11 before Bethel managed an 8-2 run to increase their lead to 20-13. Cumberland made a late push to cut the Wildcat lead to just four at 22-18, but two attack errors and a kill by BU close out the set at 25-20.
Cumberland and Bethel exchanged points to open the second frame, all the way to a 13-13 tie. A quick 8-3 run by the Wildcats gave them a 21-16 advantage. Four straight points by Bethel closed out the set and gave BU a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Again, the Wildcats were able to jump out to an early lead in the third set, this time taking a 9-5 advantage. Cumberland would manage to tie things up at 17 all and from there the teams would be even six more times before the score was 24-24. A kill and a service ace by Bethel's Rachael Gunn would end the set 26-24, and the match 3-0.
Jessyca Watson led Bethel with 12 kills. Hannah McGowan had 17 digs and Katelyn Van Hooser finished with 23 assists.
The Cats return to action Tuesday traveling to Freed-Hardeman with play beginning at 7 p.m.
Live video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/fhu/
Live stats: http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
