Mishawaka, Ind. — The Marian University volleyball team utilized a season-high 19 kills from senior Chloe Cook in a bounceback win at Bethel University in their Crossroads League opener on Wednesday night.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Marian's recorded 60 kills to Bethel's 54
- The Knights recorded five aces to three for the Pilots
- MU held the edge in blocks, 8-5
- Marian logged 89 digs to BU's 77
- The Knights hit .256 for the match, while Bethel hit .167
- The Pilots hit .113 in the final three sets
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Chloe Cook hit .342 with a season-high 19 kills with a pair of aces
- Khori Dryden added 14 kills, hitting .297; the senior added a career-high 26 digs
- Evie Dart picked up 10 kills on just 21 swings with five blocks
- Sami Luttel and Mya Cunningham combined for 52 assists
- Lexa Zimmerman chipped in 18 digs in her return to play
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST SET
- The teams battled back and forth with little separation; Bethel's Taylor Delp recorded a kill to lead 18-16 and force a Marian timeout
- The sides continued back and forth with ties at 19, 20, 21 and 22
- MU took a 24-22 lead to force set point, but the Pilots responded with four straight points to swoop in for the opening-set win
SECOND SET
- Back-to-back Cook kills started a string of four straight Marian points to take a 5-1 lead
- Dart's kill made it 11-6 to force a Bethel timeout
- The Pilots cut the deficit to 11-9 before the Knights regained control; the Pilots burned their second timeout when an attack error made it 21-14
- Bethel responded with four straight points to get back in the game at 21-18; Cook ended the set with back-to-back kills to even up the match
THIRD SET
- After Bethel led early in the third, the Knights won 11 out of 14 points to take a commanding 14-7 lead and force a Pilot timeout
- Bethel battled back to within 16-13 as Marian called TO
- Dryden and Dart powered two separate burst of three straight Knight points to distance Marian to a key frame victory
FOURTH SET
- Cook's kill and an attack error gave Marian a 12-8 lead near the midway point of the fourth
- Dryden and Cook combined for three kills in a stretch of four straight points for the Knights to lead 20-13 and force Bethel's final timeout
- The Pilots picked up four straight down the stretch to get within striking distance, but Cook added two more kills to earn the Knights' win in the conference opener
UP NEXT
- Marian heads to the IU Kokomo Tournament this weekend, facing three teams currently ranked in the NAIA Top 25
- The Knights take on 21st-ranked Cornerstone at 2:15 on Friday afternoon, followed by a matchup with #17 Aquinas at 6:45 p.m.
