HESSTON, Kan. — The Hesston College volleyball team fell to Bethany College in four sets Saturday, dropping the match 21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-20. The loss moved the Larks to 4-5 on the season.
Hesston opened the match with its strongest offensive set of the day. The Larks committed just one attack error on 28 attempts, finishing with 12 kills and a .393 hitting percentage. That efficiency helped Hesston take the opening set 25-21 and grab an early 1-0 advantage.
Bethany responded in a competitive second set that featured five ties. Hesston recorded 11 kills, but six attack errors slowed the Larks as the Swedes evened the match with a 25-21 victory.
The Swedes carried the momentum into the third set, recording 16 kills and hitting .333. Hesston finished with 10 kills in the frame but committed seven attack errors as Bethany pulled ahead in the match with a 25-17 win.
The fourth set remained close with six ties and four lead changes. The Larks recorded eight kills while Bethany finished with 10, eventually taking the set 25-20 to close out the match.
Trinity Griffin led the Hesston attack with 10 kills, while Lydia Foster added nine. Delayna Kerry finished with seven kills on 13 attempts for a team-best .462 hitting percentage, while Kennedie Esparza and Jacee Ray each recorded six kills.
Kerry also contributed across the court with 17 assists, 13 digs, a solo block and seven block assists. Rebekah Blackmer added 12 assists, while Esparza finished with 12 digs and Sarahi Paez added 11. Ray recorded a solo block and five block assists as the Larks totaled 14 block assists in the match.
Hesston finished with 41 kills and a .168 hitting percentage, while Bethany recorded 55 kills and hit .182. The match featured 19 ties and 11 lead changes across the four sets.
The Larks will return to action Tuesday, Sept. 15 when they travel to Langston University for a 6 p.m. match.
