BEDFORD – Bedford North Lawrence suffered two losses in the BNL Invitational during high school volleyball action on Saturday.
The Stars (1-8) dropped a tough battle with Evansville Mater Dei in the morning round, falling in four sets by a 26-28, 25-17, 25-18, 29-27 final. In the consolation round of the four-team event, Terre Haute South swept to a 25-8, 25-13, 25-11 triumph.
In the opener, BNL powered to a 24-21 lead before Mater Dei (8-8) fought back in the first set. Annie Waggoner scored the set point with a push-tip. But the Stars couldn’t keep that momentum, falling behind in each of the next two sets.
The fourth set was a tense clash. BNL surged to a 22-18 lead before the Wildcats scratched back even. From that point, the teams exchanged points. Waggoner dumped another tip for a 24-24 deadlock, Carlee Kern hammered down two kills to save match points. But Mater Dei’s Janelle Schapker smacked down a kill, and her next blast accounted for the final point.
Kern finished with 14 kills, Maddy Bennett totaled 8 kills and 10 digs, Hayley Davis had 9 digs and Waggoner added 10 digs in the first round.
The Braves (16-2) ripped in front behind the power of Courtney Jones, a Div. I recruit at the net, and were never threatened. Bennett had 5 kills, Kern totaled 4 kills and 4 digs.
“I thought everyone did something well today and we were bigger at the net than normal,” BNL coach Gabrielle Arthur said. “We had good touches on blocks, we did a better job connecting as hitter/setters and putting the ball down. The girls fought til the very last point of the game.”
Trinity Lutheran, ranked No.4 in Class A, stopped Terre Haute South in four sets (25-23, 25-21, 25-27, 26-24) during that first-round clash. The Cougars (14-4) won the title with a four-set win over Mater Dei (25-17, 25-19, 18-25, 25-18) in the final.
BNL will seek to end its six-match losing streak when it visits Columbus East on Tuesday.
