MANKATO, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran volleyball team hosted No. 12 Gustavus Adolphus and took the first set before the visitors would rally back to take the final three for the 3-1 win. With the loss the Vikings fall to 4-4 on the year while the Gusties move to 6-2. 

The first frame set the tone for the entire match, as the Vikings would go punch for punch with the Gusties. Bethany would rattle off eight early kills to lead 10-9 before Gustavus responded during the middle of the frame to take a 20-18 lead late in the set. Bethany would battle back and find a way late, scoring seven of the last eight points with kills from Kylie Smidt and Lexiss Trygg sealing the set to give it to the Vikings 25-21. 

After a tough loss in the first, the visitors would show their might in the second as they climbed out to an early 10-3 lead. They didn't look back from there either, as they would cruise to a 25-10 set win to even the match at 1-1. 

They would carry that momentum into the third, holding a 10-5 lead early, before the Vikings would rally behind the service of Maddie Meyer for six straight to go up 11-10. Gustavus would once again bounce back, scoring nine of the next 11 points and taking a 19-13 lead before eventually closing out the set 25-16. 

After the Gusties opened up a 13-9 lead in the fourth, Bethany wouldn't go way easy as they would trim the deficit to two thanks in part to a pair of kills from Lilly Mehrkens. The visitors kept their resolve though, as they would slowly build their lead back to four points to hold a 23-19 edge late in the set. Needing a late run to extend the match, the Vikings would match one Gustie kill with three of their own and would benefit from a Gustavus error to make things 24-23, but a powerful swing from Lauren Klaith of the Gusties would seal the match. 

Trygg had a huge match for the Vikings tallying 15 kills with a hitting percentage of .342, while Mehrkens also reached double digit kills with 10. Abby Distad led the distribution efforts for the Vikings as she dished out 33 assists in the match and added 11 digs for a double double, while Megan Wegner led four Vikings with double digit digs with 20. 

Bethany will be back in action this weekend when they head to Luther on Saturday for a pair of contests.