OTTAWA, Kan. – The Ottawa University women's volleyball team fell 3-1 (25-27, 25-17, 25-27, 16-25) to Bethel College on Saturday evening inside Wilson Field House. The Braves battled the Threshers through two tightly contested sets and earned a convincing second-set victory before Bethel pulled away in the fourth.
Bailee Nickel led Ottawa with 22 kills and 16 digs, recording a double-double.
Campbell Stark added 14 kills and four blocks, while
Una Grbic finished with nine kills and a .474 attacking percentage.
How It Happened
Set One: Bethel 27, Ottawa 25
Ottawa came out strong in the opening set, taking an early 4-2 lead behind a kill from
Bailee Nickel and a block by
Rilyn Conard and
Campbell Stark. The Braves extended their advantage to 11-6 following a kill by Stark, forcing Bethel to call a timeout.
The Threshers responded with a 10-4 run to take a 16-15 lead. Nickel ended the run with a kill to tie the score at 16-16. Bethel eventually built a 21-19 advantage before Ottawa answered with three straight points. A block by Conard and
Tymerian Carrathus, followed by a Nickel kill, gave the Braves a 22-21 lead.
After Bethel regained the advantage, Nickel delivered back-to-back kills to put Ottawa in front 24-23. The Threshers fought off set point and eventually took a 25-24 lead. A Bethel service error tied the score at 25-25, but consecutive kills by Mari Phillips and Alayna Vines gave the visitors the 27-25 victory.
Set Two: Ottawa 25, Bethel 17
The Braves responded in the second set, opening with a 7-3 advantage behind three kills from Nickel. Bethel rallied to take a 10-9 lead, forcing an Ottawa timeout.
Following the timeout, Ottawa regained momentum.
Kira Cherry tied the set at 10-10 with a kill, and three consecutive kills by Stark helped the Braves take a 14-11 advantage.
Ottawa continued to build its lead with kills from Grbic, Nickel and Stark, extending the margin to 17-12. The Braves pushed their advantage to 21-14 following another Nickel kill.
Stark gave Ottawa set point with a kill to make it 24-16. After Bethel scored once, a service error by the Threshers secured the 25-17 victory and evened the match at 1-1.
Ottawa finished the second set with 17 kills and a .364 attacking percentage while holding Bethel to a .258 clip.
Set Three: Bethel 27, Ottawa 25
The third set featured another back-and-forth battle between the two teams. Ottawa jumped ahead 3-1 before Bethel rallied to take a 9-7 lead.
The Braves battled back to tie the score at 10-10 behind a kill from Grbic. Bethel responded with three straight points to take a 13-10 advantage, but Ottawa continued to stay within striking distance.
Trailing 19-17, the Braves scored three straight points behind a Bethel attack error, a Grbic kill and another Thresher attack error to take a 20-19 lead.
Stark followed with a kill, and another Bethel attack error gave Ottawa a 22-20 advantage. Nickel then delivered two kills to put the Braves ahead 24-22 with an opportunity to take the set.
Bethel answered with consecutive kills to tie the score at 24-24. Nickel responded with another kill to give Ottawa a 25-24 lead, but the Threshers scored the final three points to escape with a 27-25 victory and take a 2-1 match advantage.
Set Four: Bethel 25, Ottawa 16
Bethel opened the fourth set with three consecutive points before Ottawa battled back to tie the score at 4-4 behind kills from Stark and Nickel.
The Threshers answered with four straight points to take an 8-4 advantage. Ottawa continued to fight, but Bethel extended its lead to 13-7.
Kills by Cherry, Stark, Grbic and Nickel helped the Braves remain competitive, but Bethel maintained control of the set.
Trailing 16-11, Ottawa scored on a Bethel setting error to cut the deficit to four. The Threshers responded by scoring six of the next seven points to take a 22-13 advantage.
Grbic recorded consecutive kills late in the set to bring Ottawa within 24-16, but Bethel's Dylan Cochran finished the match with a kill, giving the Threshers the 25-16 victory.
Inside the Box Score
- Bailee Nickel led the Braves with 22 kills, 16 digs and a .241 attacking percentage. She finished with a double-double.
- Campbell Stark recorded 14 kills, a .433 attacking percentage, one solo block and three block assists.
- Una Grbic finished with nine kills, no attacking errors and a .474 attacking percentage on 19 attempts.
- Kira Cherry and Rilyn Conard each recorded six kills.
- Carson Schuman led Ottawa defensively with 19 digs.
- Madison Brauner finished with a team-high 31 assists and eight digs.
- Makela Martinez added 22 assists.
- Katie Bertrand recorded nine digs, while Nickel added 16.
- Ottawa finished with 63 kills, 60 assists, 66 digs and five total team blocks.
- The Braves recorded a .273 attacking percentage, with 63 kills and 19 errors on 161 attempts.
- Ottawa's best offensive set was the second, when the Braves hit .364 with 17 kills and five errors on 33 attempts.
- Bethel finished with 69 kills, a .357 attacking percentage, 73 digs and eight total team blocks.
- Cameron Offerle led Bethel with 23 kills, while Dylan Cochran added 20 kills without an attacking error on 43 attempts.
Who is Next
Ottawa (13-10) is the third seed in the KCAC Tournament. The Braves will host the sixth seed, Sterling College, in the KCAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 10 in Wilson Field House. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
