Lady Cats Bow out of MSC Volleyball Tournament

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. –The No. 6 seeded Bethel Lady Wildcats put a courageous battle before bowing out of the Mid-South Conference tournament Friday night falling 3-2 to the No. 2 seeded Cumberland Phoenix in the semifinals in Bowling Green.

The heartbreaking loss was certainly not because of a lack of effort or heart.

It was a back-and-forth start to the first set as neither team led by more than one for the first 18 points. With the set tied at 9-9, Cumberland scored four of the next five points to lead 13-10. Trailing 15-13, the Wildcats (22-10) went on a 10-1 run to take a 23-16 lead in the set. The Phoenix answered right back scoring the next four points to make it 23-20. Bethel secured the set one victory with the final two points.

With the second set tied at four, Cumberland scored six of the next seven points to take a 10-5 lead. The Wildcats stormed right back with a 6-1 run of their own to tie the set 11-11. Cumberland answered the Bethel run with an 8-1 run of its own to take a 19-12 lead. The Wildcats got the deficit to within four after scoring four of the next five points. Both teams traded points the rest of the set as Cumberland evened the match.

The Wildcats trailed 7-5 in the third set before scoring the next five points to take a 10-7 lead. Cumberland was trailing in the set 14-10 before scoring three-straight points to make it 14-13. The Wildcats then scored the next five of the next six points to increase their lead to 19-14. Both teams exchanged points the rest of the set as Bethel took a 2-1 lead in the match with the 25-20 victory.

The fourth set started similar to the first three as neither team could create separation early as the set was tied 6-6. Cumberland then scored four of the next five points to take a 10-7 lead. Trailing 14-11, the Wildcats scored the next six points to take a 17-14 lead. The Phoenix trailed 20-18 before closing out the set on a 7-0 run to force set five.

Cumberland took control in the fifth set scoring seven of the first 10 points. Bethel went on a quick 3-1 run to trim the Phoenix lead to 8-6. The Phoenix clinched the match scoring seven of the final 11 points in the set.

Bethel was led by Hannah McGowan who recorded a match-high 26 kills and 19 digs. Kameshia Moxley recorded 12 kills. Nayeli Vilchez recorded a match-high 54 assists. Dominika Skoneczna had 13 digs and nine kills. Sami Parker finished with 16 digs.

With the victory, Cumberland (23-7) advances to the tournament final where they will face top-seeded Campbellsville Saturday at 5 p.m.

Bethel dropped to 22-10 with the tough loss.