Lady Cats Complete Sweep at Vette City Classic

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -After capturing convincing wins Friday on day one of the Vette City Classic the Lady Wildcats returned to action in Bowling Green Saturday with two more matches.

Against Union College, the Lady Cats continued their excellent play with dominating play in the first two sets, winning 25-14 and 25-21. Bethel never trailed in the sets.

In what appeared to be a rout, it turned out to be anything other than that. With set three tied at four-all, Union captured the lead and led the remainder of the set to win 25-21. The win gave Union renewed confidence as they won the tight fourth set 25-23. The Cats would not be denied however, winning the decisive fifth set. Hannah McGowan and Lydia Dykes had huge late kills to give Bethel a 13-10 margin. McGowan closed out the victory with the final two kills to hand the Cats the 15-10 victory.

McGowan finished with 30 kills in the match. Nayeli Vilchez had a whopping 52 assists and 11 digs. Dominika Skoneczna finished with 16 digs. Sami Parker had 24 digs.

The final match Saturday was a battle of the unbeatens as Bethel faced Indiana Southeast. The Cats remained unbeaten with a 3-1 win. The Cats won 25-17, 19-25, 25-19 and 25-20.

McGowan again was a big key with 13 kills and 12 digs. With her 62 kills over the weekend, McGowan has 1, 532 career kills which moves her to within 40 of Eloisa Sales who holds the program record at 1, 572. She is 26 digs short of being second in program history for most digs. Vilchez had a sensational weekend with 39 assists. She had 157 assists in the four matches. Skoneczna had 15 kills and 10 digs. Parker had 18 digs.

Coach Starla Cupples said, "I am so proud of the fight the ladies showed today. In game one we started quickly and led 2-0. The next three sets were battles with us prevailing. In the final match we gained momentum early, but IUSE was able to adjust. These type tournaments are physically grueling but our girls found strength both physically and mentally to finish and win."

The Volley Cats hit the road again next weekend traveling to Milligan, Tennessee to compete in the Milligan Mountain Madness. Bethel plays Milligan and Blue Mountain Friday and face Keiser and St. Andrews Saturday. For details of the games and tournament visit, www.bethelathletics.com