Swedes Show Heart and Hustle on the Hardwood
September 4, 2019
The Bethany volleyball team was back in action today at the Concordia University Tournament in Seward, Nebraska. While the Swedes were unable to come up with a victory they made both teams work extra to take them down.
WALDORF – 3, BETHANY – 0
The Swedes’ first opponent settled things in three sets but were by no means putting Bethany away easily. The first set of the match was too close to call in just 25 points as the Swedes forced the Warriors to go beyond to win the match 27-25. Bethany did not back down in the second set either, Waldorf was just able to sneak in a late-set run to pull ahead and take the win 25-20. It appeared that the third set would look similar but the Swedes fought hard while down to their last point to come up with a four-point run. However, they would not be able to hold off the Warriors forever, falling in set three 25-22.
Georgia Romine-Black, junior hitter, tallied up the most kills with 11 for the Swedes, Jordan Valentine, sophomore middle, stayed solid putting away six of her seven attempts for a kill. In addition to this, Valentine served up four aces with no errors from behind the line. Ivona Vojvodic, senior setter, added 17 assists to her number in the set while helping to lead the team, along with Haley Reifsteck, junior libero, with 12 digs each. Helping out the defense was the eight total blocks the Swedes had, Serenity Storey, senior middle, got in on six of those.
MAYVILLE STATE – 3, BETHANY – 0
This match seemed to go in a similar way with the Swedes not catching breaks at the right time. Mayville was able to get on top of the Swedes early in the first set but a few late set runs by Bethany kept them in the fight. Unfortunately, the Swedes were not able to pull out an upset as MSU took the first set 25-21. Bethany kept that fire going into the second set, however, the Comets were able to utilize a few small streaks in the middle of the match to pull away and eventually take the set, 25-16. Finally, both teams brought it all for the third set with 16 ties and four lead changes this one stayed very tight nit for the majority of the match. Once again, the Swedes forced extra points, in order for MSU to get the win they finally had to get to a score of 32-30.
Paola Sanabria-Lopez shined in this contest putting away 11 kills. Vojvodic had the next highest number with seven in addition to the 31 assists and three aces she racked up. On the back line, Reifsteck led things for Bethany with 20 digs while Brenna Black, senior passer, tallied 13 digs. As a team, the Swedes put up seven total blocks.
Up Next . . .
The Swedes travel next for a non-conference match up with county rival, McPherson College on Wednesday, September 4. First serve for this game is set for 6 p.m. in McPherson, Kan.
– #RockarStockar –
Photo by Jim Turner ’68
WALDORF – 3, BETHANY – 0
The Swedes’ first opponent settled things in three sets but were by no means putting Bethany away easily. The first set of the match was too close to call in just 25 points as the Swedes forced the Warriors to go beyond to win the match 27-25. Bethany did not back down in the second set either, Waldorf was just able to sneak in a late-set run to pull ahead and take the win 25-20. It appeared that the third set would look similar but the Swedes fought hard while down to their last point to come up with a four-point run. However, they would not be able to hold off the Warriors forever, falling in set three 25-22.
Georgia Romine-Black, junior hitter, tallied up the most kills with 11 for the Swedes, Jordan Valentine, sophomore middle, stayed solid putting away six of her seven attempts for a kill. In addition to this, Valentine served up four aces with no errors from behind the line. Ivona Vojvodic, senior setter, added 17 assists to her number in the set while helping to lead the team, along with Haley Reifsteck, junior libero, with 12 digs each. Helping out the defense was the eight total blocks the Swedes had, Serenity Storey, senior middle, got in on six of those.
MAYVILLE STATE – 3, BETHANY – 0
This match seemed to go in a similar way with the Swedes not catching breaks at the right time. Mayville was able to get on top of the Swedes early in the first set but a few late set runs by Bethany kept them in the fight. Unfortunately, the Swedes were not able to pull out an upset as MSU took the first set 25-21. Bethany kept that fire going into the second set, however, the Comets were able to utilize a few small streaks in the middle of the match to pull away and eventually take the set, 25-16. Finally, both teams brought it all for the third set with 16 ties and four lead changes this one stayed very tight nit for the majority of the match. Once again, the Swedes forced extra points, in order for MSU to get the win they finally had to get to a score of 32-30.
Paola Sanabria-Lopez shined in this contest putting away 11 kills. Vojvodic had the next highest number with seven in addition to the 31 assists and three aces she racked up. On the back line, Reifsteck led things for Bethany with 20 digs while Brenna Black, senior passer, tallied 13 digs. As a team, the Swedes put up seven total blocks.
Up Next . . .
The Swedes travel next for a non-conference match up with county rival, McPherson College on Wednesday, September 4. First serve for this game is set for 6 p.m. in McPherson, Kan.
– #RockarStockar –
Photo by Jim Turner ’68
Bethany College is proud to announce the return of sideline cheer, launching with the 2025–26 academic year. Leading the program is newly appointed head coach Patricia Smith, an experienced educator and cheer coach. Sideline cheer will return to Bethany’s home football and basketball games.
Bethany College is pleased to announce the appointment of Audrey Saxton as the new Assistant Professor of English. Saxton earned both her Master of Arts and Ph.D. in English from Penn State University, where she taught courses in writing and composition, world literature, and pre-1800 literature.
Bethany College is pleased to announce the appointment of Megan Case as the new Assistant Professor of Religion. Case earned her doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin in 2016 in Ancient Mediterranean Religions with a graduate portfolio in Women's and Gender Studies.
