MISHAWAKA, Ind. --- In a loud Gates Gymnasium the Bethel Pilots (9-4, 0-1) fell in a Crossroads League battle with the Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars (13-0, 1-0) that went five sets.

Maddy Payne had her ninth 10+ kill match and her second in a row after ending the night with 16 kills and Reanna Brown had 22 assists both leading the Pilots in their respective categories. Payne also became the all-time leader in career blocks with 688, which surpasses Jackie Teppe ('91-'94) with 687.

Tied 19 all in the opening set, the Pilots went on a 5-1 run thanks to Michaela Whitaker and Ainsley Tacke scoring on top of Cougar errors to take a 1-0 set lead. The second set was a battle after a 20-20 tie but the Cougar rally tied the match at 1-1.

BU fell behind in the third set with a combination of a strong MVNU offense and some errors by the Pilots took an 11-11 tie to a 17-10 deficit quickly. The Pilots put up three straight points to keep it 24-15 but a service error gave Mount Vernon the set lead 2-1.

The tides turned again with the Pilots clicking on offense to gain a four-point lead at 16-12 thanks to Payne's kill off a set by Brown before Payne put away the fourth set 25-18 at forced a fifth set.

In the fifth, the Pilots trailed by three and couldn't get over the hump before the Cougars protected their undefeated season with a 15-10 set victory and a 3-2 match win.


NEXT TIME OUT

Bethel continues the Crossroads League season on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. in the Gates Gymnasium against the Huntington Foresters.



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