MANKATO, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran volleyball team hosted a pair of contests this weekend and fell to North Central 3-0 on Friday before a 3-0 defeat at the hands of No. 12 Northwestern on Saturday. With the results the Vikings fall to 7-9 overall on the year and 0-3 in the UMAC

North Central 3 - 0 Bethany Lutheran

The first set in this one set the tone for the entire match, as all three sets were closely contested. After the teams played to a score of 11-11, NCU would build their way out to a 19-14 advantage. The Vikings would fire back late thanks to 5-2 run to cut the deficit to two points, but the Rams would close out the set late to win 25-20. 

NCU would quickly get out to a 5-0 lead in the second before Bethany would go on a 10-3 run to take the lead. The score would eventually play to a deadlock at 19-19 where the teams would alternate points until North Central took three of the last four to claim set two 25-23. 

The third set played the most even of all of them throughout the early stages, with neither team gaining more than a two-point lead until NCU used four straight points late to take a 20-15 advantage. Bethany would then score five of the next six to cut the deficit to 21-20, before the Rams scored four of the last five to seal the game and take the match. 

Lilly Mehrkens led Bethany with 10 kills in the match while Abby Distad dished out 25 assists. Defensively, Megan Wegner and Maddi Wendland each posted double digit digs with marks of 13 and 12, respectively. 

Northwestern 3 - 0 Bethany Lutheran

Saturday, Bethany had the tall task of No. 12 Northwestern and the Eagles came out firing to claim a 13-7 lead. Bethany would slowly claw back into the match eventually cutting the deficit to one in the game's final points, but the Eagles would get a pair of kills to take the first 25-23.

Northwestern showed their strength in the second, jumping out to a 12-5 lead and never looking back as they would claim it 25-15 to take a 2-0 match lead. 

After Bethany scored the first two points of the third, UNW would score the next eight and go on a four-point run a few points later as they would lead 15-6 midway through the frame. The Vikings would cut the deficit to seven at 21-14 before UNW scored the match's final four points to win 25-14. 

Lexiss Trygg led Bethany in match two with eight kills to just two errors, while Mehrkens posted seven kills. Distad passed out 20 assists in the contest while Wegner posted a team-best 17 digs. Trygg and Abby Maloney also posted a strong block during the game, each recording six block assists in the contest.

The Vikings will next be in action on Wednesday when they host Augsburg for a 7 p.m. contest.