SEWARD, NEB. – Three Vikings recorded double-digit kills Friday afternoon as the Viking volleyball team earned its first win of the season in a four-set match against Bethany College (Kan.)

Playing at the Concordia (Neb.) Bulldog Bash Tournament, the Vikings lost the first set to Bethany before winning the next three to take the match by scores of 20-25, 26-24, 25-14, 25-23. Clarissa Olson, Paige Benson and Madison Brown all had 10 or more kills in the victory.

In their second match of the day, the Vikings won set one and played Benedictine College tight throughout most of the match before losing in four sets: 26-24, 23-25, 26-28, 17-25.

Valley City State is now 1-5 overall. The Vikings wrap up the Bulldog Bash Tournament with two more matches Saturday against host Concordia (Neb.) and University of St. Mary.

VCSU 3, Bethany College 1
Clarissa Olson had 14 kills and hit .464 to lead a balanced Viking attack in the victory. As a team, VCSU hit .231 for its best performance of the young season. Sophomore Paige Benson scored 13 kills in the match while junior Madison Brown totaled 12 kills. Senior Autumn Johnson came up with seven kills and three block points. Freshman Makayla Wetzel added four kills, 3.5 blocks and two aces.

Leah Ruter posted a team-high 28 assists and 12 digs while Reagan Ingstad had 18 assists and a team-high three aces. Leah Ruter led the Vikings with 12 digs.

VCSU outhit Bethany in the match, .231 to .128. The Vikings also held a 10-5 advantage in block points.

After losing set one, the Vikings were in danger of going down two sets as they trailed 23-21 in the second. VCSU would rally and score five of the final six points in the set though, getting a kill from Reagan Ingstad and an ace by Wetzel to win the set 26-24 and change the matches' momentum.

Benedictine College 3, VCSU 1
The Vikings won set one, 26-24, and held a 23-22 lead in set two but were unable to hold off Benedictine University in Friday's second match. Benedictine scored the final three points of the second set and went on to win the match in four sets: 24-26, 25-23, 28-26, 25-17.

VCSU hit .073 in the match, compared to .140 by Benedictine. VCSU had 11 blocks compared to just three by Benedictine. The Vikings had eight aces and 12 serving errors, while Benedictine posted only five aces and 13 errors.

Freshman Katie Juarez posted 10 kills and hit .220 to lead VCSU's attack. Clarissa Olson and Madison Brown each had nine kills in the loss. Setters Leah Ruter and Reagan Ingstad both had double-doubles in the match. Ruter had 20 assists and 15 digs, while Ingstad totaled 14 assists and 14 digs.

Charlotte Huschka posted a season-high 29 digs to lead the defense. Juarez and Ingstad both served three aces, while Autumn Johnson and Clarissa Olson combined for eight of VCSU's 11 block points.