The Bruins split their two NCCAA DII matches today, defeating the winless Johnson University of Florida Suns 3-1 before falling to the Pensacola Christian College Eagles 3-2 after coming close to completing a dramatic comeback. 

In the first set against the Suns, the Bruins jumped to a quick 7-4 lead. The Suns answered back with an ace which they used to put together a run that brought the set within one at 13-12. A block by Gaston and a service error by the Suns kept the Bruins in the lead until the Bruins started to make their own errors. An ace by Brittany Annand gave the Bruins an 18-15 lea  but the Suns would go on a run to tie the game at 19-19. A kill by Rachel Tubbs seemed to put the Bruins on the right track, but the Suns were able to retake the lead and never look back as they edged the Bruins 26-24 in the opening set.

"They had some good swings and really pushed it," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. 

After dropping the first set, the Bruins were able to score first in the second set. After an early 2-2 tie, the Bruins powered their way to a 7-3 lead. Lauren Muckenschnabl was able to score an ace against the Suns, bringing the Bruins lead up to 8-3, and forcing Johnson University to call a timeout. The timeout didn't seem to do much for the Suns as the Bruins were able to keep control of the set to win handily 25-14.

The momentum continued for the Bruins as the team opened the third set with a 3-0 run. The run helped the Bruins to a strong 10-4 lead. Erin Jarvis and Laura Gaston made great kills as the Bruins pushed their lead 18-8. The Bruins would allow the Suns to extend the set and go on a run but a Suns' attack into the net won the set for 25-14 for the Bruins as BJU led the match 2-1. 

With two straight set victories behind them, the Bruins now looked to close out the Suns. "I think we just knew that we could play better." Denny said. "And we did play better." Brittany Annand's second ace of the game and a kill by Tubbs propelled the Bruins to another big 5-1 lead early in the set. Down 14-4 for the second straight set, the Suns called a timeout as they tried to find a way to stop the dominant Bruins attack. A kill by Jarvis would give the Bruins a 16-8 lead and the Bruins never looked back as they cruised their way to a 25-13 victory in the set and won the game 3-1.

Laura Gaston led the Bruins with nine kills against the Suns. Brittany Annand led the Bruins with six aces and 19 assists, and Lauren Muckenschnabl led the team with 23 digs. The match win was the sixth in a row for the team. 

For the second match of the day, the Bruins took the court against rival Pensacola Christian College. In their first match against the PCC Eagles, the Bruins started off looking strong. "We won the first set pretty soundly." Denny said. "We served really tough. Took them out of their offense. I felt like we played really well then."

Rachel Tubbs landed her 16^th ace of the season as the Bruins took off to a 9-3 lead early in the set. PCC immediately called a timeout, but Bruins' defense continued to shine as a pair of blocks and kills by Katherine Ring and Laura Gaston gave the Bruins a 16-6 lead over the Eagles. PCC committed a service error and a block by Marjorie Elliott extended the Bruins lead to 22-9. Miscommunications by the Bruins would keep the Eagles' set alive, but after a Bruins timeout, a couple of errors by PCC eventually gave the Bruins a 25-15 victory.

Both teams exchanged points early on in the second set as the Eagles and Bruins battled to an 8-8 tie. The Bruins answered with 4-0 run that included another ace to take a 12-8 lead. Following the Eagles' timeout, PCC was able to claw their way back to a 12-12 tie and an ace gave them a 13-12 lead in the set. Coach Denny called a timeout, but the Bruins were not able to come up with an answer to PCC's play.  The Eagles' continued on their run to 9-0 and the Bruins were forced to use their second timeout. Even that didn't help as the Eagles took set two 25-16 to tie the match 1-1.

The Eagles' dominating play continued to start the third set as they jumped to a 3-0 lead. "I kind of felt like we beat ourselves up a little bit in the second and third sets." Coach Denny said. The Bruins errors caught up to them in the set as PCC continued to take advantage. A service error after the timeout extended PCC's lead, but kills by Erin Jarvis and Brittany Annand help pull the Bruins within four, 24-20. The Eagles closed out the set with a kill to take a 2-1 match lead. 

The fourth set started out even with both teams tied at 5-5 early on. The Bruins called a timeout after the Eagles took an 11-7 lead. Kills by Laura Gaston and Katherine Ring brought the Bruins within three at 12-9. An ace by Marjorie Elliott and two aces by Lauren Muckenschnabl and a 5-0 run helped the Bruins take the lead at 21-15. The Bruins were able to win the set 25-19 off of a block.

The Bruins now looked to finish off the Eagles in a decisive fifth set. A 4-0 run boosted the Bruins to an early 6-2 lead, but the Eagles were able to tie the game at 7-7 and continued to close in on the victory. "Pensacola took us out of our offense," Coach Denny said. Two PCC aces gave the Eagles a 11-9 lead, but the Bruins were able to tie it back at 12-12. However, two out of bounds hits would help seal the Eagles victory as PCC took the fifth set 15-13 and the match 3-2. 

Lauren Muckenschnabl led the Bruins with three aces and 19 digs on the night. Rachel Tubbs led the team in assists with 21 and Laura Gaston led the team with 12 kills. With the loss, the team falls to 7-5 on the season and 3-1 in region play. Next up, the Bruins will play another tri-match on Saturday as the team welcomes Kentucky Christian University at 12 p.m. and Randall University at 4 p.m.