Volleyball 10/24/01 -- Bethel 3, Augsburg 0

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (10/17/01) -- Bethel College clinched a tie for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference volleyball regular season championship and the top seed in the MIAC playoffs with a three-game sweep of host Augsburg College Wednesday night at Si Melby Hall. Game scores were 30-18, 30-19, 30-24.

The Royals, ranked No. 18 in the nation in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll, cruised to the easy win in a match that lasted just one hour, four minutes. Bethel improves to 20-7 overall and completed the conference season with a 10-1 mark; Augsburg dropped to 9-17 overall and 4-17 in the MIAC.

By virtue of an earlier sweep of St. Olaf, Bethel clinched the top seed in the six-team MIAC playoffs with Wednesday's win. Both teams finished 10-1 in the MIAC and will have a first-round bye in the playoffs. The playoffs open Tuesday (10/30) with the sixth seed playing at the third seed and the fifth seed playing at the fourth seed. The semifinal matches and championship/third place matches will be played at Bethel. Semifinal action is next Friday (11/2) starting at 5 p.m.; the third place and championship games will be on Saturday (11/3), also starting at 5 p.m.

Angie Frenell (So., Barstow, Ill./United Township HS) led a balanced Bethel attack with nine kills and five blocks (one solo), as the Royals hit .237 (39 kills, 16 errors in 97 chances). Beth Nowachek (Sr., Avon, Minn./Albany HS) had eight kills and two blocks; Jill Thorvig (Fr., Stacy, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) had eight kills, one block and nine digs; and Katie Larsen (Sr., Hastings, Minn.) had eight kills and 11 digs.

Larsen and Thorvig had four kills apiece to lead Bethel to the first-game win, as the Royals hit a strong .321. Nowachek had five kills as the Royals pulled away to a 21-5 advantage in the second game, cruising to the easy win. Carissa Nieubower (Sr., Kenneth, Minn./Luverne HS) had three service aces in the game. Frenell had six kills in the final game.

Bethel accumulated 19 service aces in the contest, led by Larsen's five. Stacy VandeLoo (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.) and Nieubower had four aces each.

Augsburg was paced by Laura Wagner (Fr., West Bend, Wis./West Bend West HS), who had nine kills, seven digs and three blocks. Lisa Miller (Jr., Buffalo, Minn.) had six kills and three blocks; Denise Foster (Jr., Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) had six kills and six digs. Amy Degner (Fr., Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins HS) had 19 assists and eight digs.

Augsburg hit just .059 as a team in the match, with 28 kills and 22 hitting errors in 101 chances. Augsburg also committed 10 service errors.

Both teams compete in nonconference tournaments this Friday (10/26) and Saturday (10/27). Augsburg closes its season at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Tournament, while Bethel competes at the Wisconsin-Whitewater Tournament.

Bethel (20-7 overall, 10-1 MIAC) def. Augsburg (9-17, 4-7) 30-18, 30-19, 30-24
Oct. 24, 2001 at Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.

Augsburg leaders:
Kills -- Laura Wagner 9, Lisa Miller 6, Denise Foster 6.
Assists -- Amy Degner 18.
Blocks -- Lisa Miller 3, Laura Wagner 3, Kristy Larson 2.
Digs -- Amy Degner 8, Laura Wagner 7, Lisa Miller 6, Alli Burgess 6, Denise Foster 6.

Bethel leaders:
Kills -- Angie Frenell 9, Katie Larsen 8, Beth Nowachek 8, Jill Thorvig 8.
Assists -- Janelle Nelson 29.
Blocks -- Angie Frenell 5 (1 solo), Janelle Nelson 3, Stacy VandeLoo 2, Beth Nowachek 2.
Digs -- Katie Larsen 11, Jill Thorvig 9, Janelle Nelson 8.
Service Aces -- Katie Larsen 5, Stacy VandeLoo 4, Carissa Nieubower 4.