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The Lady Bruins volleyball team dropped both of their matches on Saturday in straight sets as the team fell to the Kentucky Christian University Knights and the Randall University Saints. This moves the Bruins to 7-7 on the season. The Knights and the Saints are the top two ranked teams in the NCCAA DII volleyball in the current national rankings.
"I am proud of how my team responded and played hard to the finish," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "It was a great day for us to learn and improve. We tried several different combinations and lineups with everyone getting some valuable playing time."
In the first set against #1 ranked KCU, the Knights quickly powered to a 6-2 lead which forced the Bruins to take a timeout. After the timeout, the Bruins answered with two points, one of which came off a double hit by the Knights to cut KCU's lead to 7-4. The Bruins were able to use a Knights service error to claw their way to tie the game at 14-14. A great dig by Erin Jarvis and kills by Jarvis and Laura Gaston kept the Bruins within one at 17-16. The Knights then went on a 3-0 run and the Bruins called their second timeout of the set. The Bruins responded with kills by Rachel Tubbs and Gaston, but that wasn't enough as the Knights defeated the Bruins 25-22 to take the first set.
Both teams played evenly to start the second set. The Knights were able to break several early ties and they would go up 8-6 on the Bruins. An ace by the Knights and a double hit by the Bruins helped the Knights go on a 3-0 run which included back to back aces and forced the Bruins to use a timeout. The Knights came out strong after the timeout as they marched to an incredible 12-0 run to put the set out of reach. The Bruins tried to recover, but the Knights took the second set handily 25-9.
The Bruins now looked to avoid a loss in straight sets. They opened the set up well, and quickly managed to take a 3-1 lead. The Knights were able to take control of the set again and took the edge 13-11. However, the Bruins were able to take the lead back momentarily at 15-14. Several ties after the Bruins' lead eventually led to the Knight retaking control of the set at 20-16. The Bruins had several more errors and miscommunications and the Knights never looked back to take the set 25-18 and the match 3-0.
In their second match of the day, the Bruins faced off against #2 ranked Randall University. The Bruins struggles from their game against KCU seemed to resurface after a 9-6 Saints lead quickly became a 12-6 lead. Several unforced errors committed by the Bruins would help the Saints stay on top. A dig by Jarvis near the end of the set attempted to give some life to the Bruins attacks, but it wasn't enough as the Saints won the set, 25-15.
The Saints' powerful play continued into the second set as the team took a fast 13-6 lead on the Bruins. The Bruins started to show some sparks after a timeout as Erin Jarvis and Brittany Annand both came out with powerful kills to cut the Saints' lead down to 13-8. Lauren Muckenschnabl landed another ace and the Bruins found themselves on a 3-0 run. Their run ended in the next play and the Saints answered with their own 3-0 run to make the lead 16-10. Olivia Vosburgh ended the Saints' run with an ace to cut the Bruins' deficit back down to five. Rachel Tubbs was able to make a kill to keep the Bruins within five at 18-13. The Saints then served up an ace as part of a 3-0 which crippled the Bruins chances at the set. The Saints won the second set by the same score as the first with a 25-15 win.
In the third set, both teams played very even early on with several ties. A kill by Rachel Tubbs and a wide serve by the Saints brought the Bruins back within two at 7-5. The Bruins called a timeout trailing 9-5 hoping to jumpstart a rally. The Saints, however, would score twice following the timeout, and the Bruins trailed 11-5. The Saints landed back to back aces as they took a dominant 17-7 lead. A kill by Laura Gaston and a long attack by the Saints were able to boost the Bruins to a small run, trailing 21-13. The Bruins continued to fight their way back into the game as a block by Rachel Tubbs and kills by Katherine Ring and Laura Gaston eventually brought the Bruins to an amazing comeback as they cut the lead from as much as ten to four at 22-18. The Saints answered with some good kills of their own and a Bruins short serve eventually won the set 25-18 and the game 3-0 for the Saints.
"We played against some good teams today," Coach Denny said. "We hope we can compete at this level by the end of our season."
Laura Gaston led the Bruins with 14 kills on the day while Rachel Tubbs added 12. With the losses, the Bruins fall to 7-7 on the season. Next up, the team will welcome Converse College on Tuesday night to the Davis Field House.
