"We came out psyched at first," said head coach Nathalea Stephenson. "But we were really tight the whole night."

The Swedes struggled to turn their enthusiasm into production on Wednesday before battling back and forcing game five with McPherson. Senior Serah Pele-Lafo led with 12 kills, followed by senior Kristi Parker with 11 and freshman Sam Andersen with ten. Senior Megan Wendell chalked up 23 assists while freshman Theresa Read added 19. Senior Katy Troutman totaled 22 digs while Wendell had 11 and Anderson had ten. Parker had eight assisted blocks, DeRoo had six, and Pele-Lafo and junior April Roble each had five. DeRoo also had two solo blocks.

"Games three and four, even though we won, we were not focused," Stephenson said. "In game five, we were up 8-2, and we have got to finish. Not finishing things when we have teams down is hurting us. We have got to take care of things."

Bethany then headed to Nebraska to participate in the Bellevue University tournament, playing nationally ranked top 20 teams. "We played with teams that were ranked high," said Stephenson. "But our focus is not as good as it needs to be."

The Swedes first faced fifth nationally ranked Georgetown College and could not get things going as they lost in three, 13-25, 14-25, 19-25. Pele-Lafo had six kills, followed by Parker's four. Wendell and Troutman each tallied 11 digs while Read had six assists and Wendell added five.

Bethany next battled number six Northwestern College. However, the squad again could not find their rhythm, losing 16-26, 16-25, 18-25. Parker led with five kills as Andersen and Pele-Lafo each had four. Wendell chalked up nine assists while Read had six. Andersen and Troutman led the Swedes with six digs and five digs, respectively.

The team went head-to-head with Dordt College, ranked 23^rd nationally, Saturday morning. Still unable to chalk up a "W," Bethany lost 10-25, 8-25, 27-29. Pele-Lafo led the Bethany offense with eight kills, followed by senior Carrie DeRoo with six. Wendell tallied an impressive 20 assists as Troutman totaled ten digs. DeRoo and Pele-Lafo each had two assisted blocks.

The Swedes finished off the tournament with a match against MidAmerica Nazarene University. Bethany played a close match, but fell 22-25, 20-25, 24-26. Andersen pounded ten kills while Parker added seven. Read led with 14 kills with Wendell trailing at 11. Troutman had 15 digs as Wendell and Andersen contributed 12 and 10, respectively. Freshman Shelby Broeckelman threw down five assisted blocks with Wendell adding four.

The Swedes are now 2-2 in the KCAC and 4-14 overall. The squad travels to rival Kansas Wesleyan University on Tuesday, September 29 before hosting Friends University on Thursday, October 1, both 7 p.m. matches. Bethany finishes the week with a trip to Tabor College on Saturday, September 3 at noon.

"Our focus and commitment for what we need to do wasn't where we needed it to be," Stephenson said. "As a coaching staff, we are working hard on finding ways to finish things and to help us stay focused and committed."