WATERTOWN, Wis. — Beloit College volleyball dropped the first two sets on the road this evening but showed serious grit, storming back to beat Maranatha Baptist 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-15, 15-8) in front of 156 fans. The comeback pushed Beloit to 4-4 on the season, while Maranatha Baptist fell to 2-6.
Beloit stumbled out of the gate, hitting just .102 for the match through the first two frames and falling behind two sets to none. But everything changed after the intermission. The Buccaneers reeled off three straight sets, outhitting Maranatha Baptist .167, .118, and .250 in sets three through five while their defense tightened dramatically — Beloit racked up 73 total digs and a stellar .899 team reception percentage for the match.
Senior Naomi Murphy (Dubuque, Iowa) was the engine of Beloit's win, pacing the team with a match-high 12.5 points on 9 kills (.207 hitting), plus 6 digs and a block assist. Murphy came up big late, closing out the decisive fifth set with the match-clinching kill off a Layla Damotte free ball, capping an 8-15 finish that sealed the win.
Right alongside her, Madalyn Huizel (Faribault, MN) turned in a strong all-around effort with 10 kills on a .233 clip, adding 9 digs and a share of the team lead in point production (10.0 points). Huizel's kill in the third set helped kick-start Beloit's momentum swing after falling behind two sets to none.
Daniela Perez (San Francisco, CA) was arguably Beloit's most efficient weapon down the stretch, finishing with 9 kills, a .192 hitting percentage, and 10.5 points — including a perfect 1.000 hitting set in the fourth (2 kills, 0 errors, 6 attempts) and two clutch kills in set five that kept Beloit's momentum rolling. Perez also chipped in a solo block.
Beloit's balance was on full display this evening with multiple Buccaneers contributing in different ways. Kierra Rayne Hoover (Albuquerque, New Mexico) added 6 kills and 6.5 points, including a key kill late in set four. Madeline Holthaus (Saint Paul, MN) contributed 3 kills, 7 assists, and 19 digs — a defensive workhorse who also drew a service ace in the third set. Aaliyah Gerard (Aiea, HI) ran the offense in the back half of the match, dishing out 12 assists and serving a pair of aces, including a huge ace to open Beloit's set-five surge (0-2, then 0-3). Sofia Ekmekjian Bagarazzi (Conshohocken, PA), Beloit's libero, was steady from the back row with 13 digs and a team-high .905 reception percentage on 19 chances. Audrey Deane (Omaha, NE) delivered in the clutch too, with back-to-back kills off Gerard sets late in the fourth set (13-23, 14-23) to help pull Beloit within reach, then added another key kill in the fifth.
The match swung in the third set. After Maranatha Baptist's Layla Damotte (a match-high 13 kills, 15.0 points) and Emma Scalzitti (29 assists) had carried the Sabercats to a 2-0 lead, Beloit's blockers and defenders clamped down — limiting Maranatha to just a .167 hitting percentage in set three and .118 in set four, while Beloit's own attack found its rhythm (.167 and .118, respectively, still positive swings compared to their rocky start).
In the decisive fifth set, Beloit jumped out to an early cushion behind Gerard's serving and never let go, riding kills from Huizel, Hoover, Perez, and Murphy to close it out 15-8 — outscoring Maranatha Baptist 8-1 across the frame's final stretch after trailing early.
The Buccaneers head east on Friday to face the Belles of Saint Mary's College. First serve from the Angela Athletic & Wellness Complex in Notre Dame, Indiana is set for 6 pm ET / 7 pm CT.
