MANKATO, Minn. - Bethany volleyball locked in the No. 3 seed for the UMAC tournament following a 3-1 loss to Northwestern on Friday night. The Vikings drop to 15-11 overall and 7-4 in the UMAC. 

The first set saw eight ties and eight lead changes in a true back-and-forth battle. Consecutive kills from Riley Sammon, Lexiss Trygg, and Lilly Mehrkens gave the Vikings a 23-21 lead but the Eagles answered with four straight points to close out the set 25-23. 

After trading points early in the second, the Vikings rattled off seven straight points on the serve of Abby Maloney for a 10-4 lead and never looked back in a 25-16 win. The Eagles punched right back, though, with an early 7-3 lead and went on to a 25-17 decision. 

Bethany held an early 4-3 advantage in the fourth but a 10-2 Northwestern run gave the visitors a 13-6 lead and they went on to win 25-15, clinching the UMAC regular season title. 

Maddie Meyer led the offense with 13 kills and a .423 attack rate. Trygg added nine kills and four solo blocks. Abby Distad distributed 36 assists and Kylie Smidt was busy on the back line with 25 digs. 

Bethany closes out the regular season at 1 p.m. Saturday at home against North Central. 
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