MANKATO, Minn. - Despite a strong first set that saw the Bethany Lutheran women's volleyball team win 25-15, Carleton would rally back and win three straight sets to spoil the Vikings home opener and claim the match 3-1. With the result the Vikings fall to 3-2 on the season while the Knights move to 3-2. 

"I think that we came out really strong and the energy of our players and fans was great for our home opener," said Head Coach Laura Evans. "They started adjusting as the match went on and were able to get double blocks on our hitters and their service was extremely tough and had us playing out of system too much. We're excited for this upcoming weekend." 

Both teams would trade blows in the early going with some big swings, before the Vikings would use the service of Maddi Wendland to score nine straight and take a 13-6 lead. The Vikings would continue to roll from there, extending their lead to 19-9 before the Knights would score two straight to cut the deficit to eight. They would get the deficit as low as seven points late, but Bethany would take the set running away as a Wendland ace would end it. 

The Knights came out with a renewed energy in set two and were able to get out to a 13-10 lead. Five misplays from the Knights though would cost them as part of a 7-0 Bethany run as the home team would go up 17-13. Bethany would push their lead to 20-15 and eventually 23-17 before Carleton turned the entire outlook of the game around. They would rattle off eight straight points thanks to five kills and a service ace to claim the second 25-23. 

Set number three played the most even of all sets in the match, as the two teams would go back and forth early before eventually going to extra points. Neither team would gain more than a three point advantage in the set until the Vikings would score five straight off the service of Kylie Smidt to go up 22-18. The Knights would answer with five of their own to lead 23-22 before BLC scored two in a row to bring it to set point. Carleton however would score four of the set's final five points to claim the set 27-25. 

Bethany would score the first three points of the fourth before the visitors would score six of the next seven. Both teams would trade punches throughout the middle of the set until the Knights would rattle off four straight to go up 18-15. The Vikings would claw their way back in, evening things at 20, before the score eventually pushed to 22 apiece. Carleton would close out the match though, scoring three of the last four to take the set 25-23 and the match 3-1. 

Lilly Mehrkens led the Vikings with 10 kills in this one, while Lexiss Trygg had nine and Maddie Meyer eight. Abby Distad distributed 33 assists in the matchup, while Smidt led the team with four service aces. Smidt and Trygg tied for the team lead with 15 digs, while Meyer had a team best seven blocks. 

Bethany will be back in action this weekend when they head to Saint Mary's Saturday for a pair of contests.