The Lady Bruins volleyball team won an exciting match against the Spartanburg Methodist College Pioneers, edging SMC 3-2 in five sets. "We didn't have as many unforced errors" Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We really forced Spartanburg Methodist to earn their points tonight."

The win marks the second for the Bruins this season who were looking to shake off a rocky 1-4 start. The Pioneers on the other hand were 4-1 entering the match as the two teams took the court in the Davis Field House. 

Laura Gaston came up with a block to put the Bruins on the board first in the opening set. A couple of miscommunications and errors on both sides of the net helped keep things even early in the set as the Pioneers led 9-8. A big kill by Katherine Ring sparked the Bruins as they rallied to tie the set at 12-12. As the set continued, the Pioneers were able to score off of a pair of blocks to turn their 18-17 lead into a 20-17 lead forcing the Bruins to take a timeout. Even after the timeout, the Bruins tried to get back into it but the Pioneers held on for a 25-22 win in the opening set. 

The Bruins came back in the second set as Rachel Tubbs and Laura Gaston boosted the team to a 6-3 lead. The Pioneers committed several errors as the Bruins stretched their lead 10-3. Even after a SMC timeout, the Bruins kept up the good play as they kept their lead. Great defensive play by the Bruins helped the team hang on for a 25-14 win in the second set as the match was tied 1-1. 

With the momentum now in their favor, the Bruins sought to win the third set to give them the lead in the game. The Pioneers jumped out to a 4-0 lead and the Bruins quickly called a timeout. Rachel Tubbs got a huge block following the timeout to finally put the Bruins on the scoreboard. The two teams went back and forth but the Pioneers continued to hold the lead. Laura Gaston provided the answer for the Bruins as she recorded three straight aces to help the Bruins take the 21-20 lead. Katherine Ring kept up the momentum for the Bruins as the comeback was completed with the Bruins winning 25-22. 

"We didn't give up," Coach Denny said. "I thought as a team they played better as a unit. We were able to come back and pull that one out."

In the fourth set, the Pioneers were able to build up a 12-6 lead but good defensive play and yet another ace by Laura Gaston led the Bruins to another amazing rally. The Pioneers were up to the task in this set as they held off the Bruins to win the set 25-22 to force a fifth set. 

The Bruins were able to score first as Katherine Ring helped get some additional points on the board for BJU as the team led 7-3. With each point, the Bruins confidence grew as they neared the win. Erin Jarvis had a well placed kill to end the match as the team won the set 15-11 and the match 3-2. 

Erin Jarvis led the Bruins in kills on the night with 12 while Saleena Walker had 32 digs for the team. Laura Gaston finished the night with 5 aces as the Bruins improve to 2-4. 

Next up, the Bruins will travel to Florida this weekend for the NCCAA DII South region kickoff tournament in Jacksonville, Florida.