Box Score
Head Coach Vickie Denny moved one step closer to an impressive milestone winning her 999th career match as the Lady Bruins swept Piedmont International University 3-0 on Friday night in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
"This was a good match for us tonight," Coach Vickie Denny said. "We were able give our starters some much-needed rest, but we still had the bench players step up big for us."
The Bruins came into the match off a split day of competition on Thursday as the team had defeated Truett-McConnell College 3-2 and lost to Montreat College 0-3. Overcoming setbacks and injury, the Bruins have continued to compete well as they entered Friday's match with a 15-8 record and a perfect 8-0 record in region play. They looked to keep their unbeaten region record intact as the next chapter in the battle of the Bruins was set to be written. The Bruins went with a different look lineup as Coach Denny changed up the formation throughout the match.
In the opening set, the Bruins started out slow but quickly gained momentum. Olivia Vosburgh was the setter on the night and helped to feed BJU attackers for points. Still, Piedmont kept the score close until Lauren Johnson provided the spark with a strong series of serves to propel the Bruins to a 25-14 win in the first set.
The Bruins continued to ride momentum into the second set as the team again jumped out to an early advantage. Saleena Walker came through with several kills and the Bruins defense did well in blocking Piedmont attacks. Serves translated to sets and kills as the offensive flow was seamless in producing points. A strong close by BJU handed the Bruins a 25-11 win in the second set.
With the sweep within reach, the Bruins stormed out to a big lead in the third set. Dani Payne, Katelyn MacDowell and Laura Gaston provided the kills while Lauren Johnson and Saleena Walker went on a serving run to give the Bruins a big lead. Piedmont tried to fight back, but the Bruins were just too strong as the closed out the set 25-5 and won the match 3-0.
"We were able to eliminate our errors and play disciplined tonight," Bruins captain Marjorie Elliott said. "It was great to have fan support on the road that helped us stay positive against a tough home crowd."
Olivia Vosburgh led the team with 24 assists while Dani Payne led the way with 9 kills. With the win, the Bruins improve to 16-8 on the season and remain unbeaten in region play at 9-0. Next up, the Bruins will host a tri-match on Saturday as they welcome Johnson University and Morris College.
