After a 3-1 road trip to the nation’s capital, the Bethel volleyball team returned home to the Robertson Center Gym Wednesday night for a matchup with Macalester. The Royals sat at 11-4 coming into Wednesday’s matchup, a strong start for a team that won just 11 games all of last year. 

Their record is especially impressive considering the Royals have been road warriors to start the year, playing everywhere from Iowa to Wisconsin to Washington D.C. Now the Royals finally get to settle into the MIAC portion of their schedule, playing seven of their next eight games against conference opponents. 

The stretch gives the Royals a chance to not only have a less-grueling travel schedule but also separate themselves from MIAC competition in an effort to return to postseason play. 

Grace Solberg stepped up to the task on Wednesday night, racking up an impressive 21 kills in a three-set sweep of the Scots. The first two sets were as tightly contested as a sweep could possibly be, however. The Royals grabbed an early lead to begin set one, before the Scots stormed back, taking a 12-6 lead. 

The Royals chased for much of the opening set, as the Scots played outstanding defense holding Bethel to a .178 hitting percentage. The Royals rallied from behind late though, going on a 9-2 run to close the match. Solberg accounted for four Bethel kills, helping the Royals take the set by a narrow 26-24 margin. 

The Scots and Royals traded blows in the second set with the Royals opening up an early advantage, but play quickly tightened. Macalester tied the set at nine after three consecutive Bethel attack errors. From there the teams traded points back-and-forth, until a pair of kills from reigning MIAC Player of the Week Peyton Howie and Hannah Penke gave the Royals a slim 22-20 lead. Solberg closed out the set with two kills, putting the Royals up 2-0. 

Set three was total domination by the Royals from start to finish, with Bethel quickly jumping out to a 12-3 lead that included four more Solberg kills. Macalester responded, cutting the Bethel lead to eight, but that was as close as it got. Bethel immediately opened up a 24-8 advantage, taking the set 25-11 and the match 3-0. 

With the victory over the Scots the Royals have now won more games than they did all of last season, and the 2-0 conference record ties them with Gustavus atop the MIAC standings. 

Bethel has won 11 of its last 12 games with the lone loss coming against a nationally-ranked Gallaudet University squad. The Royals now look to carry their momentum through conference play as they hit the road once again — albeit a much shorter drive — for a matchup with Carleton College in Northfield Friday at 7 p.m.