The Buena Vista volleyball team returned to action on Friday evening for a pair of matches to begin the two-day Bethel University Invite. BVU got past Martin Luther in four sets to start the night before being dealt a 3-1 loss by the host Royals to wrap up day one.

Against the Knights, the Beavers  rolled to 25-19 and 25-16 victories to take a 2-0 lead before dropping the third set, 25-23.  The team bounced back nicely in the fourth set, hitting a stellar .444 to cruise to a 25-18 triumph.

BVU posted at least 12 kills in each set, including a match-high 16 in the third.  The team was effective on the defensive end as well, limiting Martin Luther to only five kills in the second and seven in the fourth.

Three players totaled double-digit kills for the blue and gold, led by sophomore Maddie Bardole's 18.  She only had three errors in the contest and posted a hitting percentage of .417.  She also chipped in with 15 digs and three ace serves. Jade Schaap was next with 15 kills and only three errors in 34 attempts.

Emily Mathews turned in a carreer-best 10 kills.  Laura Barry found the hot hand throughout the entire match and dished out 46 assists.  Jordan Henningsen was the other Beaver to post double-digit digs with 11.

The Beavers couldn't quite keep the momentum going against the Royals, as Bethel picked up a 25-18 and 25-22 win to start the match.  BVU kept the match alive with a commanding 25-13 win in the third set before Bethel finished the match off with a 25-21 victory in set four.

BVU posted 10 kills in three of the four sets, including 16 from Bardole.  Schaap was close behind with 11, and the duo also combined for 15 digs.  Mathews just missed out on double-digits with eight kills, to go along with her four total blocks.

Henningsen led the back row, defensively, with 12 digs, as Barry and Sydnee Donnelli followed closely with 11 and 10, respectively.

Buena Vista is now 3-5 on the year and will look to even its season record with wins in its final two matches of the event on Saturday.  The day begins with a match against Concordia-Moorhead at 9:00am, followed by an 11:00am showdown with St. Olaf.