MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel Lady Wildcats followed their Friday dramatic win over Martin Methodist with a 3-1 victory over Faulkner Saturday. It was Senior Day with Bethel honoring Rachael Gunn, Madison Ralph, Rebekah Coleman and Destiny Cunningham in pregame ceremonies.
Bethel won 25-21, 23-25, 25-23 and 28-26.
Arielly de Souza led the Cats with 22 kills and 16 digs. Hannah McGowan had 16 kills and 20 digs. Katelyn Van Hooser had 31 assists and 11 digs. Madison Ralph had her solid game with 38 digs while Maggie Brooks continued her consistent play with 25 assists. Maria Azevedo contributed with 10 kills.
It was Bethel's sixth straight win and 10th in their last 11 matches. The Cats moved to 20-11 overall and 11-2 in the SSAC. Faulkner dropped to 12-15 and 5-8.
Coach Starla Cupples expressed her thoughts about the win and the season. "I'm am so proud how these girls battled this weekend. They never gave up when we were down. They came from behind against Martin Methodist to win in five. Then against Faulkner, we dropped a set and overcame a point deficit to close out the 4th set. We set a goal a few weeks ago to get 20 wins this season and today they accomplished that. We now focus on preparing for conference tournament."
Final Standings (SSAC Record, Points)
1. Martin Methodist (12-1, 17)
2. Bethel (11-2, 15)
3. Mobile (10-3, 14)
4. William Carey (7-6, 11)
5. Loyola (9-4, 10)
6. Florida College (6-7, 8)
7. Faulkner (5-8, 8)
8. Blue Mountain (3-10, 5)
How It's Calculated
· Teams received one point for wins within the division and two points for crossover wins
· Divisions were Martin Methodist, Bethel, William Carey, Faulkner, Blue Mountain and Mobile, Loyola, Florida College, Brewton-Parker, Middle Georgia
· Florida College wins the tie-breaker with Faulkner due to having the better SSAC record
2019 SSAC Volleyball Championship
· The championship will take place Nov. 14-16 at Multiplex at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.
· Pool play takes place Nov. 14 and 15, with the semifinals and finals set for Nov. 16
· The top two teams from each pool advance to the semifinals
Pool A: No. 1 Martin Methodist, No. 4 William Carey, No. 5 Loyola, No. 8 Blue Mountain
Pool B: No. 2 Bethel, No. 3 Mobile, No. 6 Florida College, No. 7 Faulkner
Additional Notes
· Faulkner won the 2018 tournament, with Mobile claiming the 2017 title
· With Martin Methodist already earning a bid to the 2019 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round, the tournament champ (or runner-up if MMC takes the title) receives the second bid
· For the RedHawks, Sydney Arnold leads the league with 9.4 assists/s and Hayley Brisendine leads with 6.4 digs/s
· For Mobile, Rachel Hart leads with 1.3 blocks/s and Samantha Nichols has a league-leading .315 attack percentage
· Florida College's Victoria Trueheart (4.1) and Bethel's Hannah McGowan (4.0) top the leaderboard in kills/s
Championship Website:
http://www.ssacsports.com/2019-ssac-volleyball-championship
