Rock Island, Ill. — Bethel University (3-6, 0-0 MIAC) swept Illinois Tech Women's Volleyball (1-6, 0-0 NACC) in straight sets on Saturday at Carver PE Center, with scores of 25-20, 25-8, 25-18. 

Illinois Techopened their match with a closely contested Set 1, highlighted by back-and-forth scoring. Bethel took an early lead at 6-3, capitalizing on attack errors from Illinois Tech. Despite a strong performance from the Scarlet Hawks' London Francis, who consistently scored kills facilitated by Rowan Midgette, the Royals pulled ahead once more, extending their lead to 12-8 with key contributions from Peyton Howie and Sara Scherber. Illinois Tech fought back, narrowing the gap to 19-17 with a service ace from Anna Elena Sofia Sebastio, but Bethel maintained composure and finished the set with a 25-20 win, aided by a service ace from Lauren Hetfeld.

Bethel controlled set 2 against the Scarlet Hawks opening with a 3-0 run that set the tone for the set. Illinois Tech was never able to gain momentum in the set and was downed 8-25. 

In Set 3, Illinois Tech opened the scoring with a kill from Trautmann Mendez, assisted by Midgette. The Royals responded quickly, utilizing Hetfeld's service ace and Howie's kills to gain momentum. Despite the Scarlet Hawks' efforts, including a strong showing from Lilia Donaldson and Taryn Jones with multiple kills, Bethel's steady play and service aces, particularly from Johnson, pushed them ahead. Bethel capitalized on a series of Illinois Tech errors late to secure a 25-18 victory, with Howie and Johnson pivotal in closing out the set and the match.

Illinois Tech Top Performers  

Rowan Midgette  
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- 21 assists  
- eight digs  

London Francis  
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- seven kills  
- 7.5 points  

Karla Trautmann Mendez  
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- seven kills  
- seven digs  

Brooke Rifkin  
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- seven digs  
- two service aces  

Victoria Aspurez  
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- one solo block  
- one service ace

Bethel Top Performers
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Peyton Howie
- 13 kills
- 0.565 attack percentage
- 3 total blocks
- 15.5 points

Lauren Hetfeld
- 5 kills
- 0.833 attack percentage
- 4 service aces
- 9 points

Sophia Rubio
- 23 assists
- 11 digs
- 0.667 attack percentage

Up Next
the Scarlet Hawks will travel to Berrien Springs, MI, to face Andrews University. The match is set for September 17 at 5 p.m.