Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 It was a tough day for the Lady Bruins volleyball team as they fell to Tennessee Wesleyan University 3-1 and Bluefield College 3-0 in the second day of the Bruins Labor Day Volleyball Tournament.
 
In the first match of the day, the Bruins were paired with the Bulldogs of TWU who had won both of their matches on Friday. The first set of the game was very well played by both teams. A good block by the Bulldogs started off the set. Meanwhile, Rachel Tubbs had several good kills to keep the Bruins in the game. The Bulldogs took their first timeout after the Bruins took an 11-10 lead. After the timeout, the BJU went on a 3-0 run to extend their lead to four. The Bulldogs would responded with their own 4-0 run and tied the game at 14-14. The two teams fought back and forth afterward and the Bruins eventually reclaimed their lead off of an ace. Kills by Tubbs and Erin Jarvis allowed the Bruins to stay ahead until the Bulldogs surged and tied the game at 24-24. The Bulldogs run helped set up some thrilling final minutes to a very exciting set. The Bulldogs would go on and win the set 27-25 because of an error by the Bruins.
 
The excitement, thrill, and great level of play by both teams lived on into the second set. After the two teams battled to a 7-7 tie, Erin Jarvis sparked the Bruins with a kill and an ace that tied the set at 10-10. After that tie, the set once again went back and forth with both teams trading points. The Bruins took the lead after the Bulldogs served out of bounds. Capitalizing on that momentum, the Bruins powered through to a 25-20 victory in the set to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Momentum began to shift in the third set. The Bulldogs started with a dominate 9-3 run. TWU continued to pour it on with great play at the net forcing the Bruins to call a timeout with the Bulldogs leading 21-10. While the Bruins showed improvement after the timeout, the point deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Bulldogs won the set 25-14.
 
When the fourth set began, the momentum was still in the Bulldogs' favor. The Bruins committed an error on the first shot and the Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run. The Bruins called a timeout after the Bulldogs took a 7-1 lead. After the timeout, a pair of big kills by Rachel Tubbs sparked the Bruins back into the game. The Bruins would eventually rally as they cut the lead to two. An ace helped keep the momentum on their side as the Bruins clawed their way to a 5-0 run to tie the game at 20. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were able to pull away from the Bruins in the end and took the set 28-26 and the match 3-1. 

"We kept it point by point," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "It was good volleyball and it was fun volleyball."
 
Despite the improvements made at the end of the first game, the Bruins struggled in their second match of the day against Bluefield College.
 
In the first set, the Rams scored first, but the Bruins responded with a 3-0 run. The Rams subsequently answered with a run of their own never looked back as they took a 14-6 lead forcing the Bruins to call a timeout. After the timeout, the Bruins struck back with a kill by Rachel Tubbs but the Rams offense continued to expose weaknesses in the Bruins defense as the Rams won the first set 25-12.
 
Both teams committed errors right out of the gate in the second set as the score remained close. A block by Jarvis helped power the Bruins to a 7-4 lead, but the Rams used a Bruins error to help battle back and tie the set at 11-11. Again, the Rams took advantage of mishaps by the Bruins as they closed out the second set 25-18.
 
In the third set of the match, the Rams opened up with four straight points. Rachel Tubbs and Katherine Ring had big kills and the Bruins were able to bring the set within one point, 11-10. Both teams traded points as the Bruins called their final timeout trailing 21-20. The Rams were determined to close out the match as they came out strong from the timeout to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.
 
Rachel Tubbs had 24 kills on the day while Katherine Ring finished with 17. Saleena Walker led the team in digs with 37 on the day. With both losses on the day, the Bruins fall to 1-4 to start the 2017 season.

"This has been a very positive tournament for us despite our record being 1-3." Denny said. "Each game we have the goal to be better than we were before and I think we did a lot of good things in this tournament. We just need to continue to work hard and get better." 
 
Next up, the Bruins will host Spartanburg Methodist College on Tuesday night in the Davis Field House.