New Ulm, MN - The Martin Luther College volleyball team beat Bethany Lutheran 3-1 on September 24 and the Knights looked to take the season series on Tuesday evening when they hosted the Vikings. However, Bethany had other plans and this time defeated MLC 3-1.

MLC started the match on a high note, winning the opening set 25-22 in what was the closest set the whole night. In the set, the Knights gathered 15 kills and had a .243 hitting percentage. From there, Bethany took the next three sets 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 and played efficiently, while forcing MLC into difficult volleys.

Lilly Mehrkens and Maddie Meyer led the Vikings in kills with 15 and 11 respectively, while Abby Distad delivered 36 assists to put Bethany in good positions on the court throughout the four sets.

Lauren Paulsen led MLC in multiple statistical categories, including kills (13), aces (3), and blocks (2).

Both teams had 44 kills apiece, but the 27 MLC errors compared to 17 for Bethany proved to make a difference.

Up next for MLC (6-16, 3-6) is a nonconference match at St. Olaf on Saturday, October 19, at 6 p.m.