The Blugolds’ faced Bethel University on Friday. They headed into the match with a four-game winning streak and ended it by extending the streak to five.

They did so off of a sweep that concluded in 47 Blugold kills and 62 points versus Bethel’s 31. Third-year setter Ella Kiebel, who had a team-high 40 assists, talked about the team’s offensive game plan heading into the match.

“We were really just trying to focus on our side of the net and trying to figure out ways that we can score our own points,” Kiebel said. “I think that was just done really well.”

The Blugolds’ offensive attack led them to an early 15-9 lead in the first set after Kiebel assisted Mya Cinnamo with a kill. After the 17th point scored by the Blugolds, they would go on to score their last eight points off of kills from five different Blugolds and would win the set 25-15.

The versatility from the Blugolds’ offense is something head coach Kim Wudi said she is aware of and proud to note.

“Anytime that you’re able to get a lot of people involved in the offense helps certainly for a consistency standpoint,” Wudi said.

Coming off a 0.297 hitting percentage in the first set, the Blugolds’ stayed consistent through the second set by storming ahead to a 10-5 lead off of an attack error committed by Bethel. They never recovered or came back due to a game-high nine errors.

Norah Erickson sealed the deal for the Blugolds’ in the second set with a kill assisted by Hannah Thole. The Blugolds had only 12 kills in comparison to their 17 kills in the first set, but their defense held Bethel to just 10 points.

An aspect of the game that helps support their defense is their ability to dig. Their 16.7 digs per set compared to their opponent’s 15.4 helps them keep rallies alive and set their offense up for scoring opportunities for a Blugold team that is in the top 10 in the nation for total kills.

The Blugolds’ entered the third set looking for a match sweep, but it would be a tougher battle for them as Bethel would be up 19-17 late in the set off of five straight points. 

The Blugold’s then tied the set at 22 a piece and would go on to win the set and match off three straight scores. The Blugolds were able to hold off Bethel’s 13 kills with 18 of their own. 

Wudi acknowledged the fact that Bethel is in first place in the MIAC and a tough opponent. 

“(We) knew that they were not gonna go down without a fight so I was really proud of the way our team came back in set number three and made sure that we won that match in three sets,” Wudi said.

Bethel headed into the match with an eight-game winning streak and a record of 16-4. They offer a high power 5-1 and 6-2 scheme at times, which helps generate more scoring opportunities with just multiple hitters on the court. Bethel is 17th in the country for total attacks per set at 39.08.

Kiebel said they were aware of their schemes and how they would try to attack the Blugolds offense.

“We knew that we had to be communicating a lot as a team in the front row and the back row,” Kiebel said. “Figure out and identify who their hitters are and communicating in that way to make sure that we always have a good block up.”

Like Bethel, the Blugolds’ were on a four-game winning streak before the match after being swept by UW-Whitewater and North Central College on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5. Wudi talked about what the mindset needs to be to move forward after tough losses like those and how the team has been able to recover as of late.

“You want to be able to just say, we can’t go back, we can’t make those changes, but what we can do is take the next opportunity to get better,” Wudi said. “We recommitted to some of our goals and recommitted to some of our standards and I thought that they responded really well to that.”

The Blugolds’ who stand undefeated at home with a record of 6-0, look to extend their winning streak to seven versus conference opponent UW-Stout on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the McPhee Physical Education Center for Alumni Day.

Benes can be reached at [email protected].