Box Score
The Lady Bruins volleyball team fell to #1 ranked Maranatha Baptist University in straight sets on Thursday afternoon, officially ending their chances to compete for an NCCAA DII National Title. 

"Maranatha brought their A-game to this match and did everything really well," Bruins Coach Vickie Denny said. "We on the other hand struggled with a lot of things both offensively and defensively. When you play a good team like Maranatha you have to keep the ball in play and we didn't do a good job of that."

The Bruins came into the match having lost earlier in the day to #4 ranked Randall University 3-0. The team was hoping to bounce back as they took the court against a strong Sabercats team who finished the season at 21-5.

In the opening set, the Bruins came out strong as they strung together several kills. But the Sabercats stayed right with the Bruins and used a run to take a 15-9 advantage. The Bruins called a timeout, but the Sabercats continued to pressure the Bruins as MBU took the first set handily 25-12. 

Alison Renz provided the spark for the Sabercats in the second set as she recorded 11 of 20 points scored to help MBU jump out to an early lead. The Bruins tried to find an answer, but miscommunication and poor defensive play allowed the Sabercats to continue their run as MBU won the second set in similar fashion as the first with a 25-10 win. 

The Bruins were determined to play better, and found their rhythm in the third set. The two teams battled neck and neck until the score was 11-10 in favor of MBU. After a timeout, the Sabercats came out strong with a run to take the lead. It looked as though the Bruins would suffer another lopsided set but the team came charging back as Erin Jarvis and Kendra Jeffcott each came up with big kills to spark a rally. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the Sabercats held on for a 25-17 win in the third set and a 3-0 sweep in the match. 

"This was a great learning experience for us," Coach Denny said. "It's hard to prepare for an experience that you have never experienced and I think this showed our team that although we represented the South region, everyone at this tournament is a great team and we need to be ready for that. It hurts to lose, but now we know what we need to do to compete next year."
 
The Bruins will finish up their play tomorrow morning against #8 seeded Grace Bible College.