Box Score
It was a tough start to the NCCAA DII National Tournament as the Lady Bruins volleyball team fell in straight sets 3-0 to #4 seeded Randall University. "Randall played really well particularly on defense," Bruins Coach Vickie Denny said. "At the end of the day they outplayed us and deserved to win."
The Bruins came into the tournament as the #5 seed. The first two days of the tournament matched the teams in pool play. The Bruins would battle #4 Randall University who finished the season at 20-11.
In the opening set, the two teams remained close with neither able to gain a large lead. The Bruins attack was anchored by Kendra Jeffcott and Kirstin Christmas as the pair had several kills for the team in the set. With the opening set coming to a close, the Bruins had a slim 2-point lead. After a Saints timeout, RU went on a run and scored six-straight points to take the first set 25-23.
As the second set began, the tough loss from the first set carried over as the Bruins had several mental and communication errors throughout the opening. The Saints fed their scoring attack at Kristen Macy had several great kills for the team to increase the lead 10-4 over BJU. The Bruins called a timeout and tried to mount a run of their own, but each point for the Bruins was met by multiple points from the Saints as Randall won handily in the second set 25-12.
With victory within reach, the Saints again came out strong to start the third set. Macy again was dominant offensively for RU as she completed several kills past the Bruins defense. Kendra Jeffcott came up with a big kill to slow the Saints, but Randall wouldn't be down for long as they came back to build a 14-7 lead. From there, the Saints kept the pressure on and the Bruins couldn't seem to find an answer as they dropped the third set 25-13 and the match 3-0.
"After that first set we kind of lost our confidence and Randall picked our defense apart," Coach Denny said. "We've got to forget this one as we'll have our work cut out for us against Maranatha."
Kendra Jeffcott led the Bruins with 12 kills in the match while Kirstin Christmas finished with 8 and Erin Jarvis with 6. Christmas also had a strong defensive game with 18 digs. Next up, the Bruins will play #1 seeded Maranatha Baptist University at 4 p.m.
