WINONA, Minn (Sept. 6, 2025) - The final day of the Sugar Loaf Classic, hosted by St. Mary's (MN), took place on Saturday, but the Buena Vista volleyball team came up on the short end of a 3-0 loss to Bethany Lutheran and a 3-1 setback at the hands of the host Cardinals.

Sophomore Ashlyne Havermann had a team-leading eight kills for the Beaver against the Vikings with freshmen Charley Hernandez and Keylee Gregg just behind with six apiece. As a team, BVU had a .135 percentage in the match while Bethany Lutheran was a touch higher at .195.

Havermann also turned in a team-leading five ace serves and was tops in digs with 12. Olivia Gordon dished out a career-high 12 assists with freshman Faith Fitzgerald right behind at 11. 

Bethany Lutheran (2-4) rolled off five straight points to lead 14-7 in the opening set before BVU clawed back within 22-19 but in the end, BLC hung on for a 25-19 victory. The second set had the Vikings in front 10-6 before the Beavers rallied with five straight points, including a pair of ace serves from Havermann, to go back in front, 11-10. With the score later tied at 14-14, Bethany Lutheran scored four unanswered and never looked back en route to a 25-17. The Beavers looked to keep the match going and force a fourth set with a 24-20 lead in the third but was edged late, 28-26.

Hernandez notched her first career double-double in the finale against St. Mary's (4-2) by turning in 14 kills and 15 digs while Sydney Meints chipped in with 12 kills and Greeg chimed in with nine kills and seven digs. Overall, the Beavers totaled 50 kills and had a .160 attack percentage while also posting 10 ace serves. Havermann was held without a kill in the match but did contribute with four more ace serves to go along with a team-high 19 digs. Sophomore Merced Ramirez dished out a career-high 31 assists and had her first double-double while chalking up 14 digs.

Neither team had more than a four-point cushion throughout the first set until the Cardinals scored six straight to go up 18-14. A kill by Gregg and a service ace by Hope Vanderlinden pulled the Beavers within 20-19 but that was as close as they could get down the stretch as St. Mary's prevailed, 25-20. The Cardinals started fast in the second set and built a 19-9 lead en route to a 25-18 victory. BVU stayed tough in the third and came out of the gate to lead 9-1 only to see St. Mary's respond with a 9-2 surge to get within 11-10. BVU continued to stay in front and later used a 6-0 run to break things open at 23-14 and went on to keep the match alive with a 25-16 win.

The momentum stuck with the Beavers to begin the fourth as they built an early 8-4 lead. From there, St. Mary's went on a 10-1 run to take a 14-9 lead. BVU stayed close by tying it back up at 14-14. The match was still tied at 18-18 before back-to-back kills from Hernandez and an ace from Ramirez put the Beavers in front 21-18. The Cardinals, however, had one last rally which included a 5-0 run to take a 24-22 lead. BVU rallied to pull even at 24-24 and the game also had ties at 25, 26, 27 with St. Mary's holding match point each time. BVU, however, came up just short in the end as SMU got consecutive kills to win the set, 29-27, and take the match.

Buena Vista is 2-5 on the year and will play next on the road at Grinnell College on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m.