Box Score
The Lady Bruins stalled briefly, but the team bounced right back as they defeated the Columbia College Koalas 3-1 to win their 4th straight match and improve to 5-4 on the season.
"We were able to adjust to their style of play," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "It took us a little while to figure it out but once we made the adjustment I thought we did a good job of coming back to take it in four."
The Lady Bruins were coming off a five-set thriller on Friday night as the team picked up their first region win of the season against Toccoa Falls. The Bruins came out strong right from the start as they jumped out to an early lead. Rachel Tubbs and Erin Jarvis provided the kills and the team took advantage of the Koalas' mistakes as BJU took the opening set 25-13.
In the second set, the Koalas were able to use tips to beat the Bruins blocks as they held the lead. The Bruins came clawing back with several aces Lauren Johnson as they kept the match close. Eventually, the Koalas would build a 24-22 lead before back-to-back points from the Bruins to tie it 24-24. The Koalas wouldn't be denied as they took the 2nd set 27-25.
"I brought the girls together towards the end of the second set and told them we had to choose whether we were going to let them continue to do this to us," Bruins captain Rachel Tubbs said. "We adjusted to their play and we should be able to make a team pay for tipping on us."
The Bruins made adjustments and charged ahead in the third set. Although the Koalas made several short runs, the Bruins continued to maintain a comfortable lead. Katherine Ring's kill clinched the 3rd set for the Bruins as the won 25-17.
With victory within their grasp, the Bruins jumped out to an early 12-4 lead. After a Koala's timeout, the Lady Bruin lead grew to 16-5 after the Koala's were called for an illegal shift and a net violation. The Bruins worked their lead to 24-13 before the Koalas would serve the ball out of bounds giving the Bruins a 25-13 victory in the set and a 3-1 win in the match.
"In earlier matches this season we never really found a way to fix our play," Coach Denny said. "Tonight I felt like we were able to adjust to their style of offense and then start picking it up and not let them dictate the type of play we had on our side of the net."
Erin Jarvis led the Bruins with 9 kills on the night while Rachel Tubbs and Katherine Ring each had 8. Tubbs also contributed 15 assists on the night. Brittany Annand played well in the setting position with 20 assists and Lauren Johnson served 6 aces throughout the match. With the win, the Lady Bruins improve to 5-4 on the season.
The team will be back in action tomorrow night as they travel to High Point, North Carolina, to face off against John Wesley University.
