Box Score
Despite starting each set well, the Bruins volleyball team couldn't slow the Bluefield College Rams as they fell 3-0 on Friday night in Greenville. "I was really disappointed in our defense tonight," Bruins Coach Vickie Denny said. "Bluefield played a very good match."
The Bruins came into Friday's game with an 11-3 record. The team was riding high as they had won 11 of their last 12. The Rams came into the contest with an 8-11 record but had won back to back matches over Tennessee Wesleyan and Truett-McConnell College. Both teams took the court looking for another "W" in the standings.
In the first set, both teams showed high energy and a strong attack game. The Bruins were down since the beginning, but the ball went back and forth with neither team able to establish much of a run. But then the Bruins started making small mistakes that they couldn't recover from as the Rams took a 15-10 lead. The Bruins first touches weren't on target, which threw their play off, and a couple times they ended up passing it over the net. This made for an easy counter attack by the Rams as they edged closer to taking the set. Kendra Jeffcott had a good hit and solid blocking, but her play wasn't enough to bring the Bruins back as the team lost the first set 25-18.
By the second set the crowd in the DFH had doubled and everyone hoped it would have a positive impact on the Bruins. It certainly seemed that way starting out as Erin Jarvis served the first point of the game which sparked the Bruins to build a 6-3 lead. The Rams came roaring back with a 16-2 run as they capitalized on the Bruins mistakes to take the second set handily 25-13.
In the third set of the match, the Bruins once again started in the lead 3-2. But mistakes and weak defensive play again allowed the Rams to steal the lead and go up 13-6. The Bruins had a couple positive plays scattered throughout, but the Rams overpowered in the end refusing to let up. As the Bruins final serve sailed into the net, the Rams captured the 25-17 third set win and swept the Bruins 3-0 in the match.
"They were a strong team," Bruins senior Kendra Jeffcott said. "They would wear us down we'd fall apart at the end of plays. We needed to stay disciplined and know where we should be for every play."
With the loss, the Bruins fall to 11-4 on the season. Kendra Jeffcott led the team with 9 kills and Rachel Tubbs had the team high of 18 assists on the night. Next up, the Bruins travel to Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday for a doubleheader against Johnson and Wales University and Morris College. Match times will be at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
